Tournament of the Mythic Kingdoms: Mountain & Dungeon Decks
Created by Jim
Two new fantasy-themed playing card decks set in the Mythic Kingdoms world, illustrated by Greg Swearingen.
Missed the Kickstarter? Late pledges (called "Pre-Orders" here on Backerkit) are available for a limited time through this store. Orders will be shipped along with the Kickstarter rewards.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
One Day Left!
over 1 year ago
– Wed, Sep 14, 2022 at 11:39:34 PM
Hey Backers!
As we come close to the end of the Kickstarter part of this campaign, we have a few new add-ons to mention, Greg's awesome new Nature Dragon to reveal, and we want to thank all of you for making so much of this possible!
Stretch Goal Status
$42,500 Reached: Two Random Face Cards Included as Gaff Cards
Unlike the other cards for the Deck of Many Other Things (DoMoT) that we are printing separately from the Mountain and Dungeon decks, these bonus face cards can be used as duplicate cards for magic tricks because they will be pulled from extra official Mountain and Dungeon decks.
Next Goal: The First Player Card - Never again forget who went first! Only thing to forget with this card is to use it. 😄 Either way, it will be a fun design.
Next Next Goal: Character Standees - We decided to postpone sharing a board game point tracking system for Mythic Quests in favor of developing the game Mythic Dungeon Crawler. We'll still share the board game idea with you some time before you get your cards. And hopefully you'll get these standees as well.
Next Next Next Goal: Location/Realm Cards (one for each kingdom) - A fun way to select a trump suit or decide which deck to play with, but mostly it's about more cool art!
What Happens if These Stretch Goals Aren't Reached by End-of-CampaignTomorrow?
We would love to create and share these bonus cards with you, so here's the deal: even if the stretch goals are not reached by the end of the Kickstarter campaign tomorrow, if these stretch goals are reached during the pledge manager phase (through sale of more add-ons, or late pledges), we'll still honor these goals.
What About the DS1 Deck Sleeves (650 Backer Goal)?
It would take a pretty unexpected promotion to reach 650 backers at this point. But, we're just so close, and we really want to share more free stuff with you. So, we're just going to call that good enough. I doubt anyone will complain about us giving them the option for free stuff. But in case you won't use them, they will be optional. We'll ask via the Backerkit survey if you want us to include a pair of DS1 deck sleeves. We'll also make them available as an add-on in case you want more than one pair.
Magic and Nature Dragons
Before we get to the new add-ons, check out the new bonus Nature Dragon, hot off Greg's art table yesterday!
And of course, in case you missed seeing it on the campaign page, here is the bonus Magic Dragon:
New Add-On: Signed Card of Your Choice
Our survey showed that the cards people most liked were quite varied. That makes it feasible for us to offer this new add-on.
Survey Results for Favorite Cards: The Spades in general had the most votes, with the Hearts coming in second. The top 5 cards: Wizard, Ace of Spades, Magic Dragon, Queen of Hearts, and a tie between the Mountain Dragon and the Ace of Hearts.
Signed Card of Your Choice ($5, no extra shipping): Get one signed illustrated card (AKQJ or Joker) of your choice from the new Mountain and Dungeon Decks or the Four-Color Nature or Magic Decks (limited quantity). The card would be signed by Greg in the lower right corner of the front and protected with a card sleeve. You select your card during the final campaign survey (you choose the front, such as the Queen of Hearts).
New Add-On: Exclusive Signed Set
ULTRA EXCLUSIVE: Get a signed set of Premium Mountain & Dungeon decks with a Carat X2 clear display case. Decks will be signed by Greg on the cellophane with "#/10" also marked on the cellophane. Only up to ten of these sets will be signed. If only 5 are ordered, they will be numbered "#/5". A separate signed card of your choice will also be included.
The display case (by Carat Case Creations) is made of 5mm acrylic sheets with neodymium magnets to hold the lid. It is available online retail for about $15, but won't be included as a separate add-on this time.
New Add-On: Mountain & Dungeon Uncut Sheets
For the ultra collector, or if you are looking for some expensive wallpaper for your den. 😉 This is actually both the Mountain & Dungeon uncut sheets, not just your choice of one or the other. They will be signed and numbered in the corner.
New Idea: Play Mat for Mythic Dungeon Crawler
We had some fun yesterday designing a neoprene style play mat for the solo dungeon crawler. We found a potential manufacturer for it, and have ordered a prototype. We could get the play mats at a discount if we order enough. So, if anyone is interested in an awesome Mythic Dungeon Crawler play mat as an add-on, let us know by hearting/liking this update! We're going to order a few for ourselves anyway, so we might as well see if we could get a good deal for you. It's going to cost about $18 + shipping if we reach the volume discount level. We'd also throw in a wooden heart token to use for the health tracker.
Final Social Push!
If you do social media, help us reach these new stretch goals and unlock more cards. Here are a few ideas:
1) Copy and paste this into Twitter or Facebook to share what's going on now:
Last day to back the #MythicKingdoms playing cards on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/boardgaming/mythic-kingdoms-ii
2) Use the social sharing buttons right below the video at the top of the main campaign page.
3) Reshare/repost the images we've shared on our Instagram or Facebook pages.
Thank you!
Mythic Dungeon Crawler: The Card Game
over 1 year ago
– Wed, Sep 14, 2022 at 05:51:11 PM
Hey Backers,
We have some fun games to share with you today and you don't even need to wait for your Mythic Kingdoms cards. Of course, it will be a lot more fun to play these with a themed deck. You also don't need to wait for your game group, because this is a focus on SOLO games. I'd like to start by thanking Steven Byers, whose comment two weeks ago inspired this entire update.
Do you remember back when there was basically just one Solitaire game that everybody knew? Well, not only are there a LOT of different solitaire games now, but there are even some designed specifically as "dungeon crawlers" that can be fun to play with a fantasy-themed deck.
Game #1: Scoundrel
Scoundrel is a solo game designed by Zach Gage and Kurt Bieg for a standard 52-card deck.
Scoundrel game in play with the 4-card dungeon room at top, and an equipped weapon (10 of diamonds) in play. Dungeon draw pile on the left and discard pile on right. You'll also need a way to track your health from 1-20.
Basic Summary: After removing some cards to aid in balancing difficulty, you start with a shuffled draw pile and display 4 cards at a time to represent a dungeon room. Hearts represent potions (or Elven Healers). Clubs and Spades represent monsters to fight (Orcs and Undead). Diamonds represent weapons (or Dwarven Warriors). Starting with 20 health, you proceed through the dungeon equipping weapons to defeat monsters, taking damage and healing. If you survive through the entire deck you win.
For the official game rules and information, here is the link on BoardGameGeek:
I learned how to play Scoundrel by watching the youtube video by Sir Thecos, and it's probably easier to learn that way rather than reading instructions. Here's the link to the video:
Clear the Dungeon is a solitaire style dungeon crawler for a standard deck, developed by Skip Solo.
Clear the Dungeon game in play, with monsters (all face cards) at the top. Attack cards are drawn 3 at a time.
Summary: Face cards represent monsters in the dungeon that must be defeated. These are separated from the deck and placed in a tableau similar to other solitaire games. The number cards and aces are your attack cards. If you can defeat all of the monsters before you run out of attack cards, you win!
After seeing this game by Skip Solo on YouTube, I reached out to see if he'd be interested in demoing a game with the Mythic Kingdoms cards. And he did! So, here's the demo of his game using the Nature deck. Make sure to subscribe to his channel!
Revolution! Variant: We identified the same theme issue with this game as Skip mentioned in his video ... that the Elves and Dwarves aren't monsters. So another idea for the theme could be a "Revolution!" where the number cards are the common folk revolting against the nobility.
Game #3: Card Crawl
Card Crawl is a digital app by Arnold Rauers with mechanics that are similar to playing with a regular deck of cards. It also seems to have been inspired by the Scoundrel game, but the method of equipping weapons and battling is a bit different. It's very fun, so take a look.
Due to the make-up of the modified cards in Card Crawl, you can't play Card Crawl as-is with a standard deck of cards. But, see Game #4.
Game #4: Mythic Dungeon Crawler
So now we come to the game variant we've themed specifically for Mythic Kingdoms. It's a mash-up of Scoundrel and Card Crawl. It uses the 4-card dungeon room like Scoundrel with spades & clubs as monsters, hearts as potions, and diamonds as weapons. The battling mechanic is like Card Crawl, but diamonds can represent both weapons or shields depending on how you use them. Also, instead of bagging special coin cards, you loot the monsters (if your bag is not covered). Inspired by Card Crawl, we've made a printable play mat PDF that can help add to the feeling of playing through a dungeon.
I rushed a set of Nature and Magic decks to Sir Thecos so he could do a demo of the game, and he did an awesome job! So, although I've got the rules for Mythic Dungeon Crawler written up in detail below, I recommend checking out his demo on Youtube (and subscribe):
There were only a couple of rules I needed to clarify after watching his video. Superb job on that demo!!!
The rest of this update contains the detailed rules for Mythic Dungeon Crawler. So, unless you're wanting to read through the rules, you won't miss anything if you go on with your day without reading this entire gigantic update. But, stay tuned for another update soon, because the 48-hour campaign countdown begins at 2:00pm MST today.
Rules for Mythic Dungeon Crawler
SUMMARY: The deck represents the dungeon and each room has 4 cards. You play 3 of the cards and the 4th remains and becomes one of the cards in the next room (You deal 3 more cards to lay out the next room). Clubs and Spades are monsters, Diamonds are weapons or shields or allies, and Hearts are health potions or Elven healers. Your objective is to clear the dungeon and get as much loot as possible without ever letting your health go to zero.
SETUP: Shuffle the deck and place it above the play area as a draw pile. Use a counter to track your health and start with 20 health. Reveal 4 cards from the draw pile and fill the dungeon room by placing the cards face up in the empty room spots.
Game Setup: Draw pile at top, 4 cards in the dungeon room, health at 20.
CARD VALUES: All cards except jokers use standard card values 2-14, with number cards being their number, Jack=11, Queen=12, King=13, and Ace=14.
Monsters: card value is the monster's strength or the damage it will do
Weapons: card value is the attack strength or the amount of damage it will do to a monster
Shields: card value is the durability, or the amount of damage it can block before breaking
Potions: card value is how much health the potion can restore when used
HEALTH: Using a potion increases your health based on the value of the card, but only up to your maximum health. Your maximum health is 20, but if you are having difficulty clearing the dungeon, you can start with 20 and allow your maximum health to be 25 or 30.
LEFT HAND and RIGHT HAND: To use a card, you must have a hand available. You can equip a weapon in each hand, but if you don't have a free hand available, you cannot equip another weapon or drink a health potion.
BAG: Your bag is where you store your loot. After defeating a monster, instead of discarding it, you turn the monster card face down in your bag slot, to represent collecting loot. You may also use your bag to store one weapon or one potion face up to use at a later time. However, if your bag is covered by a face-up card, defeated monsters cannot be placed in the bag and must be discarded instead.
You may swap inventory by moving cards between your hand or bag, as long as the cards have not been used yet (no monster on a shield or joker card). Only a joker can move a card back into the dungeon room.
DISCARD: You can keep a discard pile to the right of the play mat. Your used potions, weapons, and non-looted monsters will go into the discard pile.
SKIPPING A ROOM: If you do not interact with any of the cards in the room, you can skip the room by shuffling the 4 cards into the dungeon pile. If you skip a second room in a row, you suffer 5 fear damage. You cannot skip a third room in a row. If a monster in a skipped room has a weapon card on it from being left over from the previous room, you discard the weapon and the monster is shuffled into the deck with the other 3 cards.
CLEARING A ROOM: If you choose to play through the room, you must empty 3 of the 4 room slots by interacting with the cards, drinking potions, equipping weapons, etc. Afterward, the remaining card becomes the first card in the next room, and you fill the room with 3 more cards from the top of the dungeon pile.
EQUIPPING A DIAMOND CARD: Equipping a diamond means taking the diamond card from the dungeon room and placing it in an empty hand slot. Whether it is a shield or a weapon depends on how you use it later (shield to block, weapon to attack). You cannot discard an equipped weapon or shield from your hand until it is fully used. If it is a face card, think of it as a Dwarven ally, but it still uses a hand slot.
The 6 of diamonds is equipped, ready to be used as a weapon or shield.
DRINKING A POTION: If you have a free hand, you may drink a potion by taking it from the dungeon room and increasing your health based on the value of the potion, but not above your maximum health. A used potion is immediately discarded.
PROVOKING A MONSTER ATTACK: You may taunt a monster from the dungeon to have it attack you. You do this by taking it from the dungeon room and either applying its remaining strength as damage directly to your health or by using a shield to block some or all of the damage. You may not use two shields for a single attack.
If the current shield durability is less than or equal to the monster's strength, then you suffer damage equal to the difference. If the monster's current strength is less than the shield durability, then place the monster on the shield as a reminder of the remaining durability. For example, if a 5-Orc is blocked using the 6-Shield, place the Orc on the shield to show that the shield has 1 point of durability remaining.
The Orc 5 is blocked using the 6 Shield. The shield has 1 durability remaining.
After being used as a shield, the diamond card remains a shield and cannot be discarded until it is broken. For example, you cannot use the remaining durability of a shield as a weapon attack. When a monster’s remaining strength is greater than the shield’s remaining durability, any remaining unblocked damage done by the monster is applied as damage to your health. The defeated monster is added to the loot bag and the broken shield (and used weapons if any) are discarded.
Playing the Undead Jack (strength of 11) without a shield, results in 11 damage. Then the Jack is looted by placing the card face down in the bag slot.
ATTACKING WITH A WEAPON: You may attack a monster in the dungeon room with an equipped weapon. If the weapon damage is less than the monster's strength, then leave the weapon on the monster in the room as a reminder that the monster's strength has been reduced (by the value of the weapon). If the weapon attack value is equal to or greater than the monster's remaining health, then the monster is removed, the loot is bagged, and the weapons used on the monster are discarded.
A Weapon (7) is played on the Orc King (13) reducing the Orc's strength to 6.
BEING ATTACKED BY A WEAKENED MONSTER: A weakened monster (one that has been attacked by one or more weapons) is played just like any other monster. The weapons on the card are just used to remember how much damage was done to the monster.
In the example below, the Orc King's strength was reduced to 2 by using the 7 and 4 weapons. It could be blocked by the shield, which has 1 remaining durability, doing 1 damage to the player, or it could be played unblocked, doing 2 damage to the player.
Playing a weakened Orc King that has 2 remaining strength (13-7-4).
STORING A POTION OR WEAPON: You can use the bag to store a weapon or potion, but if the bag is covered by the weapon or potion, you must discard defeated monsters rather than collecting their loot. Playing the card from the bag requires an empty hand slot. You cannot move a card from your bag into a dungeon slot.
The Potion (10) stored in the bag prevents a defeated monster from being looted.
USING A JOKER: A joker is equipped in an empty hand slot or stored on the bag. The Joker can take and hold any one item (weapon/shield/potion) from the dungeon by placing the item on the Joker. When the item is used, the Joker is discarded. When using the item, it may be equipped in an empty hand slot (including the one just vacated by the Joker) or placed back into an empty dungeon room.
The Joker can also hold (trap) a monster by placing the monster from the dungeon room on top of the Joker. The monster can be returned to an empty room slot at any time, then the Joker is discarded.
The Joker saving the Queen of Hearts for use at a later time.
You can move a potion or weapon held by the joker onto the bag, but the joker must then be discarded. You may not swap cards that the joker is holding. If a card a joker is holding is moved, you must discard the joker.
GAME END: The game ends when the final monster is defeated or your health hits zero.
SCORING: Your score is the number of monster cards in your bag at the end of the game. A perfect score is a game where all monsters and treasure are looted.
FORCED DISCARD: If you must play a potion or weapon but have no free hand and the bag is already holding an item, you may discard a potion or weapon from the dungeon room. But be warned, wasting items will make it very difficult (and maybe impossible) to clear the entire dungeon.
SPECIAL RULES
These special rules apply to the Mythic Kingdoms decks. Each deck has its own set of special rules. Some of these rules are based on details from the card itself or from the lore included in the Art Book, with the purpose of trying to make playing each deck a separate story. Can you score a perfect game with each unique deck?
DRAGON JOKER: The Dragon has a strength of 15. If it deals more than 10 damage to you, then your maximum health is permanently reduced by 5. You may only use one attack card on a Dragon, because it will immediately follow up by attacking you (though you could block with a shield).
TREASURE JOKER: The Treasure card can be played by adding it directly to your loot bag and is counted as 5 loot when scoring. Or, you can try to keep the treasure around as bait for the dragon (by either leaving it in the dungeon room or placing it on your bag face up). The Treasure is played as a weapon against the dragon, essentially luring the dragon away. The dragon and treasure are discarded. If you can defeat the dragon instead, and keep the treasure as loot, you will have a chance at scoring a perfect game.
The Mountain is the realm of the Orcs, so it can be much more difficult to win with the Mountain deck. While there are 2 or more Orcs in the dungeon room, all Orcs have +1 strength.
Leprechaun: Plays like a normal joker, except that if equipped (in a hand slot), allows you one time to look at the next 3 cards in the dungeon pile (and put them back in any order, if order matters). You may save this special ability to use at any time before the Leprechaun is discarded.
MountainTreasure: Normal treasure rules, or it may be played as a shield to block a single attack of any strength (notice the shield on this card?). If played to block an attack, it must then be discarded instead of bagged as loot. If the treasure is in a dungeon room with two or more Orcs, the Orcs retreat with the treasure back into the dungeon pile, forcing you to skip the current room.
MountainDragon: Normal dragon rules, plus it has a frost attack that freezes and breaks any health potions left in the dungeon room. This frost attack is triggered only if it attacks the player. While the Mountain Dragon is in the dungeon room, no Orcs may be attacked.
Jack of Clubs: If the Mad Jack is in the dungeon room, he causes you to immediately discard the Ace of Hearts if it is in play (in a dungeon room or being held). Why? See the Art Book Volume 1. :-)
Queen of Clubs: While the Queen of Fate is attacking or in the dungeon room, any attack or block against any monster requires you to roll a D20. If you roll a 1, Critical Fail!, your weapon or shield breaks without doing any damage or blocking any damage. (If you don't have a D20, if you flip a coin and get 4 tails in a row, that's roughly similar odds). If you roll a 20, Critical Success!, the monster is either immediately defeated with the weapon, or you suffer no damage from the monster's attack.
King of Clubs: He claims the right to attack before any other monster. If in a room with other monsters, no other monster may be attacked or taunted until the King of Clubs is defeated (by being attacked, or by attacking you).
Ace of Clubs: The Ace of clubs is too quick to avoid. If you skip a room containing the Ace of Clubs, it remains in the dungeon room and only the other 3 cards are shuffled back into the dungeon pile.
The Dungeon deck represents the realm of the dwarves, so some of the positive benefits of having the dwarves as your allies may help make this deck a bit simpler to defeat. Dwarven royalty (JQK) get a bonus +1 when attacking or defending.
Rogue: Plays like a normal joker, except that if equipped (in a hand slot), it also allows you one time to look through the dungeon pile for any one card, then shuffle the remaining dungeon pile and either place the card on the top or the bottom of the dungeon pile. You may save this special ability to use at any time before the Rogue is discarded.
DungeonTreasure: Normal treasure rules, or you may play it as a magic sword capable of defeating a single monster of any strength (notice the sword on this card?). But, it then must be discarded instead of bagged as loot.
DungeonDragon: Normal dragon rules, plus it has a fire attack that breaks any weapons remaining in the dungeon room. It has one weakness: the Gem Golem (Ace of Diamonds). The Gem Golem can defeat the dungeon dragon by itself (played as an attack), by turning the dungeon dragon all googly-eyed (love among gem dragons and gem golems is not fully understood).
Gem Golem: The Gem Golem may be bagged as a treasure instead of using it as a weapon or shield. In case you think it's too easy to defeat the Dungeon deck, try getting a perfect score including bagging the Gem Golem AND the Treasure AND still defeating and looting the Dragon.
King of Diamonds: The King of Diamonds can control the Gem Golem. You may equip the King of Diamonds and the Gem Golem in the same hand, for a total combined shield strength of 13+14=29 (also +1 for the King royalty bonus). If their combined remaining durability is at least 14, you may use the Gem Golem as an attack (or against the Dragon).
Queen of Diamonds: If the Queen of Hearts is in play, she curses the Queen of Diamonds to a value of 6. Why? Retribution for something mentioned in Art Book 1.
Jack of Diamonds: If your health is greater than 5, this Jack doesn't take anything seriously and is useless as a weapon or shield (attack and defense = 0).
The Undead are in the realm of Magic, so it can be more difficult to win with the Magic deck. While there are 2 or more Undead in the dungeon room, all Undead have +1 strength.
NiceImp (up star): Normal joker rules, except that if it traps a monster, when placing the monster back in the dungeon room, the monster is at half strength rounded up (put the imp on the monster like an attack card as a reminder).
Mischievous Imp (down star): Immediately steals the weakest weapon or shield from the dungeon room, your hands, or bag. The imp becomes a monster you must defeat, with strength equal to the value of the weapon it stole. If there is no weapon for it to steal, you may use it as a normal joker.
Magic Treasure: Normal treasure rules, except that while it is in the dungeon room, it will immediately try to attack you if you are not holding a shield. It does 5 damage if it attacks you, but then you may continue to treat it as a normal treasure.
Magic Dragon: Normal dragon rules, except that it deals spirit damage and cannot be blocked with a shield. If you have already defeated the Ace of Spades, the Magic Dragon's strength is reduced to 10. If the Magic Dragon and Ace of Spades are in the same dungeon room, they merge together to form a monster with strength of 20. However, it then does normal damage and may be blocked.
Jack of Spades: If the Jack of Spades does one or two damage against you, the damage is doubled.
Queen of Spades: Have a timer ready. When the Queen of Spades appears in a dungeon room, if it takes you longer than 30 seconds to finish clearing the room, you suffer 5 damage.
Kingof Spades: The King Spades is immune to the 6 & 11 (6 of diamonds and the Jack of diamonds). These cannot attack or block the King of Spades. Why? Some pretty deep meaning from Art Book 1.
Ace of Spades: See the rule for the Magic Dragon.
Nature is the realm of the Elves, so the Elven Royalty (JQK) heal +1 when used for healing.
Nice Fairy (up star): Like the normal joker rule, except she can only hold a potion. When playing the potion, she doubles the health regeneration of the potion.
Mischievous Fairy (down star): Immediately steals a potion currently in play (from the dungeon room, your bag, or one being held by another joker). The fairy becomes a monster with a poison attack equal to the value of the potion it stole. If there is no potion for it to steal, you may use it as a normal joker.
NatureTreasure: Normal treasure rules, except that it can hold an unused item while it is in the dungeon room. The item may come from the dungeon room or from an item you have equipped or in your bag. If the item it holds is not used before the treasure is looted or used against a dragon, the item is discarded.
Nature Dragon: Normal dragon rules, except that you may not attack it with a weapon. If you attack it with a weapon, you incur the wrath of the elves and immediately lose. On the other hand, the Elven nobility can pacify the Dragon, reducing its strength based on the value of the Elf face card. This essentially means playing a heart KQJ face card as though it were a weapon (instead of a potion).
Ace of Hearts: While the Ace of Hearts is in a dungeon room or held by a Joker, it has the ability to automatically defeat a monster in the dungeon room with a value of 2 or 3 (think calvary or trample). You just play that monster directly into your bag. BUT, only if the Mad Jack isn't around. If the Mad Jack shows up while the Ace of Hearts is in play, the Ace of Hearts flees back into the dungeon (even if the Ace is being held in your bag or by a joker) and the Mad Jack follows, forcing you to skip the room.
King of Hearts: When the King appears in the dungeon room, you may look at the next 3 cards of the dungeon deck. (This has reference to the King preferring strategy over luck.)
Queen of Hearts: See rule for Queen of Diamonds in the Dungeon Deck.
Jack of Hearts: As a very skilled archer, but having no melee weapon, he can only be used for attack.
WIZARD: If your deck has the special Wizard card, you can use it in place of the Dragon (with the same rule). Or, if you are also using the Dragon card, the Wizard can be an ally that deals either a single massive attack against one monster, or an area-of-effect attack against two adjacent monsters. The attack value is the same for both monsters, equal to the value of the weaker monster. This means that the weaker monster will immediately be defeated, so you leave the Wizard card on the stronger monster.
NOTE: For any special rule that might trigger by a card simply existing in the dungeon room, if you choose to skip the room, the special ability of that card does not take effect and the room may be cleared as normal.
TIPS / QUESTIONS / FEEDBACK
CAN YOU SCORE A PERFECT GAME?
Yes. It is possible, at least with the basic rules. I have done it once so far. There is some luck involved, but the game does seem more strategic than a typical solitaire game.
TIPS
Don’t waste health potions! For example, avoid using a 10-potion if you only can restore 5 health.
Don’t waste weapon attacks! For example, avoid using an 8-weapon to defeat a 4-monster. Instead, use the 8 as a shield to absorb the 4-monster’s attack.
QUESTIONS?
Please share your helpful feedback, questions, and ideas for house rules in the comments. Once again, I'd like to thank Steven Byers for pointing me to these solo dungeon crawlers. If you ever wondered how influential an individual backer's comment can be on an entire campaign, this is an example ... a brand new game for you to enjoy!
New Cards for the Deck of Many Other Things + Other News
over 1 year ago
– Fri, Sep 09, 2022 at 06:53:02 PM
Hey Backers,
Quite a few things have happened since our last update, so we're just going to lump all of the latest news into this single update!
What is the Deck of Many Other Things? If you are new to the campaign, take a look at the update about the Deck of Many Other Things (DoMoT) for details. Our latest stretch goals are fun extra cards that will be free for each backer who gets at least one deck. Here is an image showing the current progress:
Bonus Unlocked: Card Display Stands
We passed the $37,500 stretch goal, so we plan to include two display stand cards in the Deck of Many Other Things. We tried many ideas, and these 6 are what we found worked the best. Please take the survey to choose your favorite (Display Stand Survey Link). After the campaign we'll include the two that receive the most votes. The final design is subject to change (particularly the color and artwork on the display stand), so you're just choosing what you like best for the general shape.
In case you're wondering, we took a photo of these with the cards to act as the label when referring to the design (2,3,4,5,6).
Rule Summary Cards for DoMoT
We also passed the $40,000 stretch goal, so we'll be including rule summary cards for Mythic Quests, Mythic Jester, and Mythic Dungeon Crawler. We haven't discussed Mythic Jester in detail yet, but it is basically the game Presidents (a.k.a. Scum) but with the Champion and Jester in place of the President and Scum spots. We haven't revealed the solo Mythic Dungeon Crawler yet, but it's basically a mash-up of Scoundrel and the Card Crawl app.
These are work-in-progress examples, so don't pay too much attention to the rules :)
Character Standees for DoMoT
We've just recently revealed the $47,500 stretch goal, which will be a set of character standees that you can cut and fold to use for board game player markers or minifigures. We've played with various ideas for these standees and the one we like the best is this simple folded design.
We're planning to include 2 cards of standees, and we can fit 3 characters per card. The size of the standee is similar to a typical minifigure, so it should work well for tabletop RPGs, or an expansion for Mythic Quests that uses a board game for tracking score (that's still a work in progress). Just don't sneeze when you're playing the game ... if that's a problem, you could stick the standee to a base with a little more weight to it (mounting putty works well).
Which characters do you want included as standees?
We've only received a few responses so far on our "What is Your Favorite Card" survey, so please take a minute to vote on your favorite cards. We'll be using this to figure out which characters to include as standees.
We've added a "Mountain & Dungeon Brick" pledge level and add-on, which includes 6 Mountain decks and 6 Dungeon decks, plus the custom brick box for reaching the stretch goal. So, if you are wanting quantity at a discount, this is a pretty good deal (about $8.67 per deck, not counting shipping).
Another Recommendation
"Crisp and Clean" is how I would describe the Butterfly Cards by Ondrej Psenicka. The Butterfly brand of cards is famous among magicians and collectors. The latest edition is available right now on Kickstarter:
A Peek at the Art Books + Deals
over 1 year ago
– Wed, Sep 07, 2022 at 11:46:52 PM
Hi Backers, As we approach the last week of the campaign, we wanted to highlight some of the details about the art books and reveal the related $50k stretch goal.
What is Your Favorite TMK Card?
Before we take a peek at the art books, we could use your help. We are also considering a new add-on or reward such as a signed card of your choice (as an extra separate card), but we need your help in making that decision, so please complete the anonymous survey:
In addition to full page spreads for each of the AKQJ cards, like the One Eyed Jack shown below, Volume 1 shows the initial concepts and refinement for each of the unique suit symbols, and the process of sketching, researching, and drawing the court cards.
Sample Page Spread from Art Book Volume 1 (actual photograph)
The book also explains many of the details within each of the court cards, some related to traditional playing card art. For example, you'll learn why the One Eyed Jack is holding a domino and even why it's the 1|2 domino.
You can certainly enjoy the cards and the art without knowing the details, but these details are one of the unique features of the book.
This next peek comes from TMK1 Update #28 (which you can look at for more Volume 1 details). This image shows the concept sketches for the King of Spades and the clay maquette that was used for getting realistic lighting.
Page 17 from TMK Art Book Volume 1 showing sketches and clay maquette used for lighting
Mythic Kingdoms: The Art (Volume 2)
Volume 2 will follow the same general layout as Volume 1. We'll show details of the process from concept to completion and feature a 2-page spread for each of the 8 new joker cards, with a full 7.5x10 inch image on the left and details on the right.
Volume 2 will feature Greg's process of creating a Dragon card, from sketching ideas, creating photo reference for lighting, drawing the final art, and then creating the final card with color, highlights and typography. We're also planning to show the creation of the new leprechaun and rogue icons used on the new card backs and tuck box flaps.
Greg working on the final drawing for the Magic Dragon
Greg built this custom castle to help determine the correct lighting for his Magic Dragon.
The appendix (bonus content) in Volume 1 shared detailed rules for the game Mythic Challenge along with game variants for a number of common card games. For Volume 2, we plan to include the detailed rules for Mythic Quests along with summaries of additional games or variants.
$50k Stretch Goal: New Art
An idea we had floating around since the beginning of TMK 1 was to have bonus cards that represented the location or setting for each kingdom. This idea led Greg to make some sketches of the fortresses, and these showed up on Page 4 in the first art book.
Page 4 of the Art Book (Volume 1) with sketches of fortresses for each kingdom
If we reach the $50k stretch goal, Greg will draw these scenes in detail and each will be shown as a full-page print in the new art book. These scenes can provide a fun artistic setting for each of the four kingdoms.
Deck of Many Other Things Bonus: The $50k stretch goal would also unlock these 4 location cards for the Deck of Many Other Things. The backs would be identical, so you could shuffle them and randomly choose a trump suit or randomly choose which deck to use for your quest. You could also set the chosen card in the center of the table (or on a display stand) to represent the current trump.
In case you need even more incentive to grab a book, here are 3 new deals.
Deal #1: Reduced Shipping for Multiple Books
We have an add-on called "Art Book Volume 1 (For Multiple Books)" which offers 75% Off International Shipping or $2 Off US Shipping if you have already chosen to get Volume 2 via a pledge level or add-on. This makes the shipping for this add-on $3 US, $4 CAN, $5 Rest of World (compared to $5 US, $16 CAN, and $20 ROW).
The two pledge levels that come with both books (Ultimate and Penultimate) already account for the reduced shipping of adding a 2nd book. So this mainly applies to those who want 2 or more books.
Deal #2: 50% Off Extra Art Book Volume 2
We have a handful of people who want multiple copies of the art book volume 2, and we want to create an incentive for helping reach the minimum print volume for these new art books. So, we've created a new add-on that let's you get an additional copy of Volume 2 at a 50% discount (plus reduced shipping for the extra book). In other words, this will be like a "Buy 1 Get One at 50% Off" deal.
Deal #3: $10 Coupon via Backerkit for Ordering Volume 1
The details about the court cards and aces are only available in Volume 1, and there are a limited number of these books left. As a final incentive to get your hands on these books, every backer who orders at least one Art BookVolume 1 either through an add-on or a pledge (such as the Ultimate or Penultimate), will receive a $10 Coupon via Backerkit* that can be applied to any additional add-on! The coupon won't result in a refund, but it may help you get that extra set you want. 😉
The $10 Coupon only applies if Volume 1 is ordered before the end of the Kickstarter campaign on Sep 15. If the quantity of Volume 1 books currently available via pledges and add-ons runs out, there won't be any more available via Backerkit.
*If you are not familiar with Backerkit, it is the pledge manager that we are using after the Kickstarter campaign is over to handle the surveys that collect your mailing address and allow you a last chance to order add-ons.
Questions?
We packed a lot of details into this update, so if you have questions, please comment or message us. Thanks!
Quest for the Deck of Many Other Things
over 1 year ago
– Fri, Sep 02, 2022 at 12:42:37 AM
Hi Backers,
With the $32,500 stretch goal reached, we have officially started on the quest for the "Deck of Many Other Things!" To show the progress, we've developed this fun map to represent the cards we unlock with these stretch goals.
For some of these cards, we'll be requesting your feedback, either before or after the campaign. For example, if we unlock the display stand cards, we'll prepare a survey so you can vote on your favorite 2 designs.
More Detail About Some of the Cards
More Ideas? We'd still welcome ideas, but we have enough now to unlock at least one new card at each $2500 level, up to $60k! We'll reveal more of the map and the new cards as the quest progresses.
Help Complete The Quest!
You can help reach these new levels and unlock more cards by sharing the news of the campaign. Here are a few ideas:
1) Copy and paste this into Twitter or Facebook to share what's going on now:
Having fun with bonus rewards for the #MythicKingdoms playing cards: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/boardgaming/mythic-kingdoms-ii
2) Use the social sharing buttons right below the video at the top of the main campaign page.
3) Reshare/repost the images we've shared on our Instagram or Facebook pages.
