Middara: Unintentional Malum - The Complete Trilogy

Day 9: Murderous Monsters, Spiraling Madness, and the Best Sidearm!
almost 5 years ago – Wed, Jul 03, 2019 at 01:53:13 AM

 BoardGameGeek Tuck Bags!

The owner of BoardGameGeek and his friends have been playing Middara and loving it! The friendly folks over there reached out and wanted to make Tuck Bags to hold their stuff between sessions. Of course, we encourage this kind of thing and told them to go for it!

We're told that these bags will be for sale on the Geek store this month and for sale at their booth during Gen Con. You can check out the store here. 

We worked with them on dimensions and that sort of thing, but other than that, this was their own passion project. The idea is that you'll be able to replace your plastic zip lock bags with custom Tuck Bags that include artwork for the corresponding character you're playing. 

As far as more specific details we'll just have to wait and see as this is their own project... we're waiting to pick up a set ourselves. 

Though a far call from Arkalla, this Esper is banned from summoning nonetheless. The nature of the beast a well hidden secret, locked deep within the archives of personal collections and hidden libraries. The monster twists the minds of those who summon it, or perhaps it requires a twisted mind to summon... Regardless, the fate of those who have brought it to Middara are well documented tragedies fraught with horrific tales of the lust for power. 

Despite these warnings, there are those who still bring these abhorrent beasts to this realm. The prevalence of such acts even in the face of what many consider a universally bad idea has brought much speculation as to the true nature of how such events actually occur. 

It's theorized that the monster reaches out to the summoner as much as the summoner reaches out to it. It's mantra's and heinous whispers corrupts the individual, allowing it to worm its way into their mind. This would at least explain the one sided contracts that are usually formed. Even in the event that the summoner had much to offer, its been found that the contract was one sided. A literal deal with a devil.

Historians and scholars have in fact tried  to summon the a creature for academic purposes. But we only know this due to the discovery of the slaughtered bodies days after, months in one case. 

The little we know has only begs more questions.  

For our Day 9 unlock, we will be adding a miniature to the KS2 Promo Box for the The Murder Advocate. This miniature is typically only a cardboard Standee that is featured in Unintentional Malum: Act 3. 

To be clear, this miniature is part of the KS2 Promo Box and is being given away for free as part of every pledge level at the "Through the Portal" level or higher. 

The cardboard standee version that is already a part of the contents of Unintentional Malum: Act 3 will remain a standee. 

Nyx couldn’t hide her relief when she finally reached the last page of the diary, at least the last page with anything written on it. It hadn’t taken her long to see what the investigator wanted her to find.

“So you see the doom that came to the Ortiz family,” Christopher said, reaching up to something around his neck. A rosary—he clutched it even now, just looking at the diary. “And why I couldn’t be explicit in the report. Brahma has… certain ideas about justice. Noble, but…”

“But sometimes strict rules get in the way of actually getting things done?” Nyx grinned at him. “Guess even a Brahmanian can see how stupid their rules are.” Nyx caught another nervous glance from their waiter. Poor Ruiz was probably having a heart attack, they’d been here so long. All the tables around them were empty now. They didn’t enjoy overhearing tales of distant horror.

“Most of the time rules keep us safe,” Christopher countered stubbornly. “Demon like this Dark Mother is obviously dangerous, if anything in this diary is true. Rules say it’s so dangerous that the only safe thing to do is burn it. Nothing is worth the risk that someone might discover it.”

“And yet.” Nyx pointed to a sketch in one corner of the last page, carefully dodging the brown stain that was almost certainly blood. “You kept it, and now we know where they went.”

“I just can’t give up hope that…” Then he trailed off, apparently processing what she’d said. “You know where this is? I searched all over Brahma for it. Nothing like it anywhere.”

If it was in Brahma you would’ve burned it. “That’s because it’s in Elenia—or near it, anyway.” Nyx rose, pocketing the diary without request or permission. “It’s called the Witch’s Ziggurat. I know where I’m going now.”

“Where we’re going.” Christopher rose at the same moment, tossing a handful of gold onto the table with careless disregard. It wasn’t Elenian currency, but there was so much Nyx knew Ruiz wouldn’t care. “You have a citizen of your nation you hope to save, that Enoch child. But the Ortiz family deserve justice. They deserve rescue, if anyone is still alive in that devil-cursed tower. On my honor, I deliver one or the other. You can help if you want.”

Nyx laughed despite herself. “You think you’re going to make it through a kingdom as dangerous and barbaric as Elenia without a guide?” He was already halfway to the door. She almost let him go. At least if he got himself hopelessly lost, he couldn’t torment her anymore.

Nyx hurried to catch up anyway. If Christopher got too annoying, she could always find an esper hungry for Spanish food.

She made only one stop on the way out of the city, back to the small apartment she kept but rarely used. After what she’d read in Sandra’s diary, she needed to be well-armed. Powerful espers were now involved, suggesting Salma would not be responding to reason.

Once inside, she pushed aside a bookshelf on wheels, revealing her emergency stash. She hesitated a moment, before selecting...

The Drop-leg sheath, which would keep a heavy hatchet near her thigh for practical as well as violent purposes.

or…

The Pearled-necklace sheath, which would conceal a dagger around her neck for emergencies. Less of a punch perhaps, but much easier to conceal.

What Sidearm does Nyx take? 

Day 8: Something from the forest, no more disembodied torsos, templates, and a Feathered Heirloom!
almost 5 years ago – Tue, Jul 02, 2019 at 01:01:55 AM

No more disembodied torso!

Normally I'd say that the people have spoken! Alas, the artist of our wonderful Frock approached me at the convention we were at over the weekend and shared his own distaste for the off putting skin on the artwork. He promised to fix it, to make it better, stronger, skinless...

Today he delivered in record time. 

Gasp! Templates. 

Our wonderful Graphic Designer has been working on providing some simple-ish templates for our community to create their own content. The first of many card sizes has been completed. So we thought we'd show off the 5x6 template for our game. 

These files are in PSD format and require Photoshop and some basic Photoshop skills to use. As we upload more and more of these templates to our website we'll be sure to let everyone know. 

You can check them out here. 

Let us know if there is anything missing and we'll do what we can to fix it as soon as possible. 

Breeze hid in the forest canopy as bedlam unfolded beneath. Her village was in shambles. Alana and her wurm were wreaking havoc, killing or capturing her sisters. The Wood Nymphs weren't fighters, and it showed as Alana moved unopposed, cutting down or capturing anyone she could get to. 

How could she have been so blind. She should have known that Alana would come for revenge. When the elders found out that Alana planned to fuse her essence with a wurm, they imprisoned her. She would have died in her cell, but she had already gone farther than the nymphs had imagined. She was able to summon her wurm to help her escape, and then disappeared into the swamps. 

Breeze still couldn't believe that Alana was capable of such atrocities. It wasn't the Alana she knew, not any more. Now, she was Alana the lich wurm. Her fellow sister was lost to her. When Alana returned for vengeance, it took the whole village by surprise. The elders were the first to fall, and without their powerful magic, the rest were soon to follow.

Luckily for Breeze, she was already in the tree tops when Alana arrived. She desperately wanted to help her sisters, but it was too dangerous. She watched in horror as Alana dragged away those that she didn’t eat immediately. They were mostly young ones, and she rounded them up in a thick net as they cowered away from her. Once all of her sisters were either dead or captured, Alana turned and left, riding atop her wurm. 

High above her ruined home, Breeze was devastated. She knew she had to do something, so she departed, following her corrupted sister back to where they first found her taming the wurm. 

The choice has been made...

An elegant black Feathered Pen was used in some uncouth crimes. 

Nyx Gains the Unique Uncommon Weapon Transcendent Feathered Pen! 

(And so do you as a Free Upgrade to the KS2 Promo Box!)

Day 7: Unlocks, a Compendium of Trouble, and Disturbing Evidence!
almost 5 years ago – Mon, Jul 01, 2019 at 01:43:03 AM

 A humbling $2 million big ones

Brooklynn here!

First off, this is yet another humbling moment for Alex and I. Without our wonderful backers and their constant support we could have never made this happen. The two million mark is astounding, something you can plan for over and over in a business plan, but still be completely flabbergasted to actually see it happen. 

And while the money is impressive, and truly means that we will never be forced to compromise our vision. Seeing people love our passion and work as much as we do is a gift that any artist strives for, one that money could never buy. 

It's easy to get caught up in the limelight, but the reality is that the two of us could have never come close to delivering a behemoth like this without the constant support of our close friends and family, our playtesters, the collaborators in the comments, everyone giving us direction and feedback, and of course, our backers.

Stay sexy, guys and gals.

Board Game Revolution Preview!

This wonderful video was created by our friends over at BGR. Go check it out!

Shea from RTFM created a really well made succinct How to Play video. 

We highly recommend it to get your players to the table as quick as possible. It gets across all the basics in under 30 minutes while letting you reference what is needed beyond that in the Rule Book as you play. 

Shea specializes in doing incredible rules videos for game of our size. His Twilight Imperium Video was a lifesaver for our uninitiated new players. 

Shea will also be covering our 1.1 Rules Update in a later video post campaign. 

You may be seeing a trend here... :D

The blighted guardian is a mockery of the human body, a twisted shadow of the person that it once was. Sickly green liquid oozes from its orifices, each drop sizzling when it hits the ground. The blighted guardian was originally thought to be a creature native to Elenia. When travelers first encountered these monsters in the southern wilderness, they simply noted them down on the long list of menaces that made founding cities there impractical and dangerous.   

It wasn’t until people wounded by blighted guardians began to develop the same symptoms, that it became apparent that the blighted guardians were not native monsters to Middara, but the result of a parasite. They were humans who were unlucky enough to be infected by other blighted guardians.

The blood of a blighted guardian is highly acidic. When struck, their blood can melt steel, and they are covered in weeping sores that coat their bodies with corrosive fluids, making even their touch dangerous. 

Some people are resistant to the parasite. Unfortunately, there is no way to predict who will be immune and who will not without being potentially infected by a blighted guardian. It is unknown whether or not the host actually dies from the blight, or if the parasite just takes control of the body, leaving the mind captive in a withering, rampaging husk. This has difficult and unpleasant implications in regards to the disposal of these creatures. Many of those who lose loved ones to the blight, argue that a cure might one day be found, and those infected should be locked up until that time. Others argue that they are nothing but dead bodies under the control of a dangerous parasite. 

Researchers have found that infected individuals kept in captivity occasionally become lucid, screaming the names of people they once knew, or even begging for death. This lends some weight to the idea that these creatures are still truly human inside, and so perhaps could still be saved. Unfortunately, there is no known cure. The Kingdom of Elenia is most effected by the blight, and has many financial incentives to find some sort of remedy. They have even tasked specialized groups with developing a cure, though there have still been no successes.

For our Day 7 unlock, we will be adding a figure to the KS2 Promo Box for the Blighted Hendrix Standee, featured in Unintentional Malum: Act 1. 

To be clear, this miniature is part of the KS2 Promo Box and is being given away for free as part of every pledge level at the "Through the Portal" level or higher. 

The cardboard standee version that is already a part of the contents of Unintentional Malum: Act 1 will remain a standee. 

How does one define content? Is it the total amount of time a game can be played? Does the time only count when it's "new" content? Or is content defined by the total amount of individual pieces and artwork? Well, regardless, for those who are looking for new content we got you covered with the following Free Stretch Goal! 

For our 2 Million Dollar Stretch Goal, we will be unlocking another FREE Upgrade to the KS2 Promobox!

This upgrade provides a booklet that expands the Crawl Mode in Middara considerably. With additional Scenarios with Ranks at every level, (Including levels that will require Act 2 & 3 to play) this book will expand your Crawl experience by over a dozen hours. 

Each Crawl Scenario included is unique, not part of any other Adventure, and includes any relevant Diagrams and hidden information inside of the Compendium itself. 

For those who might be unaware, the Crawl Mode provides something challenging and unique to play even on the nights that you don't have all four players show up. If you want to try a one-off adventure to test a build out, or show the game to a new friend, this Crawl Compendium will expand the options available to your gaming group considerably without spoiling any content already in a story. 

In the Crawl Mode, you play through a more generic adventure that isn't tied to specific characters. This means that you can choose to play any Adventurer you own, including the Resin Kits, Promotional Adventurers, and any Adventurer's you've unlocked during another story. 

*While we're not comfortable giving an exact page count until the product is complete, this book is not small. In fact, by its very nature it will exceed the playtime of the Crawl Book included in Act 1. These books add a lot of weight to our shipping boxes so it's a careful balancing act on our end when including things like this. We want to be careful that we don't end up getting rekt on shipping this time around. 

Getting a hold of someone one nation over wasn’t so simple as it might’ve been back on Earth. Middara had no phone lines, no cell towers, and Brahma was far from a cooperative neighbor eager to share information with them. But bureaucracy was a world Nyx could navigate as skillfully as the ancient ruins she sometimes explored. It took days—days poor Enoch could ill afford, but eventually she got her response.

The message was only a single sheet, written in elegantly scrawled letters like a knight’s missive. After florid greetings and pointless ceremony, the letter finished with one sincere line. “I will be at the embassy tomorrow. Meet me there.”

Nyx was there, though the investigator had been infuriatingly sparse with details. With no time, without even a physical description, she was forced to sit outside and wait, conscious every moment of Enoch’s diminishing faculties. The child had gone from occasional injections to a constant IV drip of the most potent sedatives either magic or chemistry could conjure. But still he woke in the night to cackling madness, terrifying his loyal friend and often breaking whatever was used to contain him.

Maybe Lymn was right. Maybe we can’t save him.

She reached one hand down to the edge of the bridge beside her, where her familiar had just clambered up, a glowing bracelet in his mouth. She took it, stroking the little creature’s back. He looked like a sugar glider, but with a long body like a ferret, and a propensity for getting into places he shouldn’t. How he could sneak anywhere with bright green fur, Nyx couldn’t guess, but he never ceased to amaze her. More importantly his claws were sharp, and his nose for magic was even sharper.

“Halphas, where did you find this?” she took the object from his mouth, turning it over once in her hand. A necklace of some kind, with large beads each made from a different precious stone and a large cross on the end. The strength of the enchantment surprised her, and she nearly dropped the object over the edge of the bridge. A rosary?

Her familiar didn’t speak, only made a pleased squeaking sound, nodding towards the embassy.

A second later the doors opened a figure strode confidently out, like a conquistador landing in the new world. He dressed a little like it too, his armor an absurd amalgamation of eastern and western styles, with thick metal plates running down his legs, but nothing more than a heavy breastplate protecting only some of his face.

“Christopher Amaya?” she asked, rising from her makeshift perch on a bridge-railing. Nyx glided down in front of her, then bowed slightly. Maybe playing along with his chivalrous fantasy a little would make him more cooperative. “Is this yours?” Halphas had a way of stealing things from people he wanted her to meet.

“Sí sí, Christopher Amaya. Lo siento por el retraso, pensé abía perdido alguna cosa preciosa. Tu animal lo ha encontrado para mi.”

Nyx winced, offering the rosary. “I, uh… don’t speak Spanish.” 

He frowned, then answered in thickly accented English. “If I must use your barbaric language, then I must. I’m sure your… creature was just being helpful. But now it is returned, so it has done no harm.”

Christopher stuck out one meaty hand, swallowing both of hers in a grip that could’ve bent steel. “If you know me, you must be the one who wrote about the Ortiz family.” He reached up, replacing the rosary around his neck with reverent care. “I am eager to talk.”

Then he looked up, at the other massive structures of the High District. Here were many of the city’s oldest buildings, its most important civic functions. They were mostly carved from white marble, with the hints of steel underneath that let them grow so tall. But this stranger looked as though he’d just stepped off on the wrong floor. “This is Elenia? The thorn in the Empire’s side for almost a hundred years is… this place?”

“Small, but fierce,” Nyx muttered, her tone darkening a little. I just need what he knows. Don’t piss him off before that. She turned, leaning over the edge of the bridge. The wide river Acheron wound its way below, its water clear despite the city. “We didn’t build this place in the fifth century.” We’ve got plumbing.

Christopher only laughed again. “You are too kind, uh…” He hesitated. “What title is appropriate?”

“Nyx,” she said. “You’re not my student, so even Professor would be too much.” Then she had an idea. “I know a great place less than a block from here. We could get lunch, and talk there. Somewhere more private.”

“So long as the food is less boorish than your architecture, I accept.”

They didn’t have far to go, a block like Nyx had said. But it was busy today, and instead of the private booth she’d imagined, they were crammed into a table on the second floor. At least they had a good view of Elenia below, its citizens seeming neither barbaric nor insane. Nyx went over the menu. “Las Delicias is the real thing,” Nyx said, running a finger down the menu. As though she hadn’t already known what she would order before they sat down. “Really authentic. Maybe the taste of home will help you relax.”

His eyebrows went up. “Wrong continent, señorita. This is Mexican food. In Spain we have...” His eyes skimmed the menu, seeming momentarily disappointed. But when their server arrived a moment later, he ordered without complaint. “When in Elenia, I suppose.”

Nyx fought the instinct to fly away in embarrassment. She waited until the server was gone, then turned to more important subjects. “You were the lead investigator in the Ortiz family’s, uh…” She trailed off. “Accident?”

Christopher shook his head, his one red eye going dark. “Not an accident, and not just an investigator. Their mother, Mary, was cousin to my uncle’s father, or…” He shrugged. “You wouldn’t understand. We were close, this is what matters. Your letter didn’t say what new information you might have.”

Of course it didn’t, because you never would’ve gotten it. Nyx told him. She told him almost everything, right up to the name of the Dark Mother or a description of her symbols. There was no king around to tell her to be careful what she shared—Nyx told him everything.

By the time she’d finished, both of their plates were empty, and her companion had two sugar-rimmed glasses by his plate. He hadn’t taken a third. “So I was hoping you might be able to help me find her,” she finished. “Or at least more information about her plans. Assuming Silvia really is behind any of this.”

The man no longer seemed patronizing. He had listened intently through her whole story, and had even casually tossed one of his daggers onto the table, where it would be within easy reach. “I wouldn’t put it past her,” he finally said. “That girl was a scourge on the house from the moment she entered it. Cruel and capricious.”

“I read the note you sent, in Salma’s file. You thought things were sour, but didn’t say how.”

He nodded curtly. “I visited often enough, in the days after Sandra and Salma returned from your… Institution. Had to fill some of the holes in their instruction and…” He trailed off, looking away. “No offense.”

“None taken,” Nyx lied.

“They were so friendly at first. But as the years passed, they became… strange, like her. The older sister had acquired an evil religion—all the stranger since she did not have a Pagan education like her sisters. But she corrupted them, and it was all they talked about by the end.”

“The Dark Mother,” Nyx whispered, as quietly as she could.

He nodded. “When the estate burned, I found things I did not put in that note. Things tucked away. The Deacons who oversaw the investigation would’ve burned it all… so I kept my mouth shut. Until I could use it to find more.”

Christopher reached sidelong into his heavy satchel, removing a dark volume from within and handing it to her. Its pages were tattered and stained, and prominent latches across the front had been pried off. “Sandra’s diary. Most of what I know came from in there.”

He reached down into his pack again, then stuck out his hand towards her. Nyx took it, dreading what he might put in her hand. Burned bones? Or the last message of the dead scrawled while they burned?

It was worse. A little cloth envelope, with something gnarled and withered inside. Nyx opened it, and recognized the shape instantly. It was a charred and withered tongue, torn violently out by the roots.

Nyx almost lost her burrito back onto her plate. She shoved the little bundle back, gripping the table with her other hand until her knuckles went white. She took a few deep breaths, then looked up. “Was that the only, uh… piece?”

Christopher Amaya nodded. “Before you ask, yes. The servants died from the smoke, not the flames. I checked, and none were missing their tongue. My best guess is this came from one of the family—murdered. Probably by Silvia.”

A question danced in her mind, one Nyx very much didn’t want answered. But she needed to, for Enoch’s sake. “Did you find the weapon?”

Christopher was already moving. He unwrapped something from his bag, holding it out for her. It wasn’t a dagger, or a set of snips, or any other grisly implement she might’ve expected to sever a tongue. Instead of it was…

An elegant jeweled pen, made of dark metal and with a raven’s feather. She had a sick feeling that the dried brown she saw on its grip wasn’t ink. 

Or

A crude drafting pencil, formed of shaped crystal wrapped in wood. As her hand approached it, its symbols lit up in response, old magic coming alive for her.

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Day 6: Flattering Recommendations, Interviews, and A Strange Girl From Arkalla!
almost 5 years ago – Sun, Jun 30, 2019 at 01:41:50 AM

Daily Updates sooner and sooner!

Brooklynn here!

With all the madness of the convention, combined with the overwhelming success of this campaign, Alex and I have been struggling to get our updates out in a timely manner each day. 

Well, no more! Starting tomorrow we will have each update out by 3PM MST. We've been spending some time getting our updates pre-written when possible. While this time might still fluctuate as updates themselves change depending on Community Decisions and so forth, we do expect to have our updates out earlier than we have been.

Tom Vasel put us in his top 10 Dungeon Crawls!

BGR did an interview 

Board Game Revolution did an interview with me if anyone is interested in having some insight into Succubus Publishing. The video is time stamped to skip the parts you don't need to see. Also, sound warning on the link below. They seemed to have it too loud in the first minute or so.  Lastly, we mention in the interview that the miniatures with the question marks on them will be unveiled when we feel that they are exactly how we want them. This likely will not be until post campaign (but before the pledge manager closes.) 

 (sound warning!) 

 https://www.facebook.com/boardgamerev/videos/2421555664792795/?t=675
 

Padric shifted uncomfortably on top of the undergrowth they had set up camp at.  He dropped a bundle of dry sticks onto the ground not far away from where Nightingale was resting. He watched her mumble to herself in her sleep, tormented by recent events no doubt. The girl looked so much like Shayliss that he caught himself seeing his old friend's face when Nightingale was in the corner of his peripheral. He squatted down beside the sticks, fumbling with a few bundles of moss and smaller twigs and got the fire going. 

“What is your purpose here exactly?” Suri had floated nearby, her translucent nude figure a little too close for Padric’s comfort. 

“Just trying to repay a friend.” Padric said. The fire spilled warmth across him and he setup to boil some water. 

Suri didn’t seem convinced. “An old debt? You must owe someone a lot to be risking your life like this.” She squinted her eyes. “Perhaps lots of money?”

Padric couldn’t help but smile at the strange girl’s naivety. “No.” he said shaking his head. “Not money, more like love I suppose.”

“Love?” Suri showed a wicked grin. “For the princess here?”

“No... not her.” Padric waved Suri out of his way and moved to the other side of the fire to sit. “Her sister. She means a lot to me. We went to the Institute together. Even adventured for many years.”

“Like this?” Suri asked looking around. “Leaving danger and death in your wake?”  

“Not exactly. We found ourselves getting into more innocent trouble.” Padric knew that was a lie, and his look must have showed it because Suri whirled in excitement.

“I doubt that’s true. You must tell me these stories sometime. Stories of love, and...” She paused with a smirk, “innocent adventure.” 

Padric let out a soft laugh. “How about you Suri? A girl from a forbidden realm, helping a man she’s forbidden to see, star crossed lo-” Suri cut him off.

“I do not love him! Such silly words from a human. Illogical emotions stemming from such weak character are below my kind.” She snapped out of existence and returned, blinking behind the fire light. “Rook is simply an academic project for me. A dangerous one I will admit, but nothing more than that.” 

A long moment passed and Padric poured hot water into a metal cup to let tea steep. “Wanting something you can’t have isn’t a good idea anyway. If you’re not careful it will easily consume you, leaving you unable to be happy with anything else.”

“Really?” Suri’s eyes went wide with concern. “What is this illness called? What are its symptoms?” Suri began inspecting herself, and at first Padric thought she was joking, but she kept looking at him with an intense look expecting him to tell her. 

“Academic interest you say?” Padric offered the metal cup towards her. “Tea?” 

She just stared back with a look of disapproval. “I will not take your tea or your trickery! There is no such disease that causes this kind of permanent longing is there?”

Padric shrugged and saw Nightingale move out of the corner of his eyes. “Oh, I don’t know about that.”

For our Day 6 unlock, we will be adding a figure to the KS2 Promo Box for the Suri Standee, featured in Unintentional Malum: Act 1. 

To be clear, this miniature is part of the KS2 Promo Box and is being given away for free as part of every pledge level at the "Through the Portal" level or higher. 

The cardboard standee version that is already a part of the contents of Unintentional Malum: Act 1 will remain a standee. 

Day 5: Unlocks, Update Pack.. Update?, LVL99 Cross Promotion, and A Clandestine Study!
almost 5 years ago – Sat, Jun 29, 2019 at 01:18:31 AM

Update Pack 1.1... Update?

Brooklynn here!

This convention has been kicking our butts. And due to the overwhelming success of our campaign we've been bogged down like never before. We're still committed to getting the Beta for the Update Pack and its print and play counterpart up before the end of the Campaign but it's looking like I won't have it compiled until next Friday after this convention has blown over. 

I apologize for the delay since I know there is a lot of you out there waiting for it. But rest assured, it's on the way! 

Promotional Items, Resin Kits, and KS Exclusives.

Hey, so we've seen a lot of people ask if we will be selling the cards that come with Resin Kits interdependently. The short answer is: not at this time. But, we will be providing a print and play of all promotional cards that come with Resin Kits free of charge upon delivery of the corresponding promotional items to our backers. 

Perhaps in the future we can provide a product that only contains the cards.

Also, we wanted to reiterate the following from the FAQ so I posted it again here:

About Cross Promotion rights and KS Exclusives:

Despite having them on our first campaign, we don’t believe in KS Exclusives. Anything that was previously marked a KS Exclusive will still be honored and only be offered during Kickstarters. However, this doesn't mean that we will always have a game available outside of Kickstarter. 

Middara is so huge that keeping a behemoth like this in stock isn’t realistic. This means that moving forward we will simply offer what we can when we can. By the nature of our business model the sheer scale and scope of our products means that we simply will not be able to ever promise that we can keep them in stock outside of print runs we do on Kickstarter. With all that said, if we do amazing on a campaign and have a huge amount of people who want our game that missed the Kickstarter, we will work as hard as we can to find other outlets to get our game into as many people's hands as possible while making it financially feasible for all parties involved.
 

As far as Licensing goes, we’re at the mercy of our cross promotion partners. If they don’t want us selling cross promotions outside of Kickstarter then we cannot. However, this has not happened yet. So far, every cross promotion partner has been stoked on us selling more of the miniature we worked on with them. 

Cool! With that out of the way, let us announce today's exciting unlocks!

Cave sickles are a ubiquitous part of adventuring in Elenia. They seem to be waiting underneath every rock and around every corner. Occasionally, adventurers report coming across especially large specimens. For a long time, these big, aggressive cave sickles were thought to be a whole different species. 

It is now speculated, however, that there are different types of cave sickles that serve their hives in different ways. Ordinary cave sickles are the most commonly seen, and are thought to be the scouts and workers. Deeper within their hives, larger varieties can be found. These are the warriors, tasked with protecting their hives from intrusion by humans and other threats. They are usually only encountered near a hive entrance.

Cave sickle warriors look quite different from their smaller counterparts, with a pair of grasping claws like those of a crab, and a much wider, rounder body. The warrior sickles use a special pheromone to signal scouts to rally to them. This means that an unwary adventurer may see their one-on-one battle become decidedly uneven as cave sickles swarm to defend the hive. 

However, cave sickle warriors typically seem to only be interested in protecting their homes, and do not pursue intruders too far from the hives they live to protect. Novice adventurers are advised to flee if they find themselves set upon by cave sickle warriors, as they will usually give up the chase before too long. 

Rarely, cases of massive packs of warriors roaming deep underground have been recorded. It’s thought that these packs of warriors may gather when a hive needs heavy lifters to clear out sections of earth to expand their home. Luckily, this is a rare occurrence as a massive group of cave sickle warriors would be problematic for any adventuring party. 

Much like ants, cave sickle hives sometimes clash with each other over food and resources. In these cases, cave sickle warriors have been seen clashing in furious and astonishing battle. The display usually leaves any onlookers grateful that they are not involved.

For our Day 5 unlock, we will be adding a figure to the KS2 Promo Box for the Whopper Standee, featured in Unintentional Malum: Act 1. 

To be clear, this miniature is part of the KS2 Promo Box and is being given away for free as part of every pledge level at the "Through the Portal" level or higher. 

The cardboard standee version that is already a part of the contents of Unintentional Malum: Act 1 will remain a standee. 

 The sight was familiar to Lymn. Though the goddess Oriana had given the dream-wolf a second death, Lymn didn't feel fury or frustration at seeing her again. Instead, she padded forth leisurely, knowing what she'd have to do- again.

The goddess looked up from a man's prone form, his body contorted around a miniature star. But he would not die, not here.  Oriana's visage twisted to face the wolf. "Hello, little dead dream." she said confidently, her grin inhumanly broad as her third eye peeled open. "Your death was the day of my birth, and I don’t mind repeating history-"

Lymn rushed forward as an interruption, stepping on the edges of the nightmare as Oriana assaulted her with azure magics. But Lymn arced around their cold light, moving outside of conscious space. Reemerging into awareness, the wolf was upon Oriana, sinking her teeth into her throat. Despite the power the goddess had held on the Plane of Chaos, here in the Dreamscape, she was just a figment. Her ending was an anticlimax at best, just a moment in a sleeping man's nightmare. A sharp jerk of Lymn's head, and Oriana's form broke, becoming hollow, limp, and flat. The seeming goddess was but a bloodless echo of the sleeping man's memories, the embodiment of his trauma.

The man's mind collapsed, frayed but whole. His name was familiar enough to Lymn: Zaamassal. He had helped Lymn find her reincarnation, and so she stood guard over his dreams. She knew that no matter how transient a nightmare was, its notions could become reflected in life. Of course, this was doubly true for a man such as he. But a sleeping terror could always hold the seed of waking disaster for a vulnerable mind.

But there was no time for nostalgia, and she stepped back into the fringes of the Dreamscape. There were countless troubles and worries creasing sleeping minds, and it was her duty to guide them. Though the Prime World echoed most strongly for her, there were endless dreams from myriad planes laid before her senses. A curiosity was sparked by Oriana's memory, of how dread threats could emerge in even the hinterlands of reality. Far from Indines and its neighbors, she could smell something bent and long-lost, something that broke the rules of the great games between worlds. It could be left to the people of this foreign realm, of course. The waking were resourceful, and they might end this disaster before it troubled any other plane.

Or, perhaps, she considered, they could use the fangs of a guardian who defied the rules as well...

 Check out the cards: Adventurer Card | Item Card | Discipline Card

 As a Day 5 unlock we're excited to announce our cross promotion with the mysterious Cherri & Lymn from Level 99 Games. These guys have been putting out anime inspired games for years and we're positively ecstatic to be working alongside such veterans in the industry.

With over 20 successful Kickstarters under their boots, Level 99 Games has always been an inspiration of ours. Heck, I used to sling their Battle-Con game at my local game store like candy.  

Everyone over at Level 99 Games has been so wonderful to work with. David himself was answering emails and helping us out even when things were tough for us over here at Succubus. The whole company has always helped us when we reached out and we are eternally grateful for their advice and the time they have always given us when we had difficult questions about all sorts of industry related topics! 

For these reasons we're humbled at the opportunity to be able to put one of my personal favorite characters in the world of Middara.

Trenchworx is hard at work making the Resin miniature as we speak. As soon as we have something to show we'll be posting pictures of the resin kit. (Hopefully in the next three weeks.)

The Dreamwalker Lymn kit comes with a beautiful Resin miniature (that will require assembly), an Initiative Card, a Discipline Card, and an Adventurer Card, This kit comes in all "With Swag" Pledge levels and can be added as an individual add-on for $20. 

Don't hesitate to go check out their website, facebook, Twitter, or even one of their twenty kickstarters.

It wasn’t an easy choice to make, but in the end Nyx could only bring one item with her from the armory. And it’s not like I could wear both of these anyway. The frock wouldn’t offer her as much protection, but it matched her style better, and the extra luck it would offer in a pinch would more than make up its lack of armor.

That choice made, Nyx traveled back to the Institute, digging out every book in the library on dark rituals and forbidden summoning. That well quickly ran dry, though with the king gone, she had one other source of information.

Tucked away in Arsen Castle, where Nyx never could’ve dreamed of visiting had the royal family been in attendance there, was King Balthazar’s personal study. She glanced to either side of the empty corridor, listening attentively for the sound of passing footfalls, before humming a quiet tune to empty air. 

The space in her outstretched palm grew suddenly brighter, and the esper settled into her hand like a physical weight. Buné looked like an overfed kitten, swollen so pudgy that he didn’t really want to move around. But his eyes were gigantic, and his neck swiveled all the way around to grin at Nyx expectantly. He clicked his forelegs together in the space in front of him—instead of paws, they ended in multijointed metal of various shapes and sizes—lockpicks. “Here,” she said, lowering a little fish down into his mouth with her free hand. “And here’s the door.”

The kitten slurped contentedly, then set to work. Nyx kept herself hunched against the door, covering the summoned kitten with both wings just in case a guard she hadn’t expected rounded the bend. But none did—there was barely even a skeleton crew left protecting the castle at this point. Something is terribly wrong in Elenia, but not even Shayliss is still in town to ask.

A second later the door clicked, and began to creak open with an exaggerated rumble. Nyx darted inside, shutting it quickly behind her.

The cat hopped off her palm into the air, grinning toothily at her one final time. Then it dissolved, back to the realm she’d called it from. 

“Thanks, Buné,” she muttered, though the esper hadn’t stayed behind long enough to accept her praise. So far as she could tell, he only really cared about the fish.

Nyx had stood in the royal study only once before, but she still remembered its familiar outline. A comfortable sitting room downstairs, flanked by a spiral staircase leading to shelves and shelves of books so ancient she could smell them even from down here. “Banned books, here I come.”

She searched. Nyx dug through shelf after shelf, through tomes so ancient she could barely read them. Balthazar had an impressive collection, but less impressive organizational skills. But unfortunately for Nyx, she knew no convenient esper librarians, and so the task was hers alone.

She didn’t read on the comfortable sofa downstairs, since it was in view of an exterior window, but tucked into a corner on the top floor, with two dozen books open all around her. “Perfect,” she said, tossing another ancient Faulkan text into a growing pile. “That’s six writers who think we should just kill anyone marked before they can cause trouble. Superstition sure does make people friendly.”

None of the books responded, or anyone else for that matter. At least Nyx could get in without getting caught. Finding something to help Enoch, though…

She lifted a slim leather-bound volume from the nearest disorderly pile, brushing it off with the back of one hand. “The Atrocities of Faulkism, huh?” Nyx skimmed the black book, the first written by an explicit denier of Middara’s native religion. No wonder you got banned…

It wasn’t just a pointless screed denying Faulkism’s basic tenets, or the king wouldn’t have bothered banning it. Rather, it listed various things done by rulers in distant places in the name of the faith. Objects destroyed to prevent the ire of the gods, people killed without good cause—and there, near the back, was a sketch of the Dark Mother’s mark.

While ascribing the agency of entities beyond Middara is common, its use is particularly offensive here. These young women were not created by fate, or even the action of the Dark Mother. Should such an entity even exist, like all her kind she is certainly unable to perceive events so small and insignificant as individual lives. Rather, it is clear those who bore her mark were touched by ritual, originating on Middara and from human hands. Killing these women does nothing to thwart the Dark Mother Divine, as it was never her who created them in the first place.

There was an extensive list of apparent victims, though none were terribly recent. “You want to maybe tell me how to help, instead of just saying that someone else is responsible?” But of course the book didn’t respond. There were no enchantments on it, no codes or secret compartments. The page on the Dark Mother was only one among hundreds.

Nyx kept reading through afternoon and past nightfall, until the words blurred together into a meaningless jumble and she could barely feel her legs. She hardly even noticed when she started to doze.

She opened her eyes in a vast space, with windswept black basalt rising from an endless salt flat. Nyx felt herself drifting, her body settling gently onto the ground with wings extended. I’m dreaming.

“Perceptive,” said a distant voice—though not far enough away for comfort. Nyx looked up, then staggered back, eyes wide with shock. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

There was the creature Kirien had described, like a dire wolf with purple fur accented with red. Its face was wrapped with thick bandages, obscuring its eyes completely, though that didn’t seem to stop it from seeing. In the air between its ears was an eye made of light, wide and unblinking. It faced Nyx no matter how she moved. Even if she looked away, she could feel it watching her.

“You’re Lymn,” Nyx said, relaxing as best she could. It was wrong to assume that an esper would act like an animal just because it looked like one, but even assuming this was an esper was unwise. She appeared in the Room. She found my violin. Those aren’t powers any esper should have. “You called me. Well, here I am! Now do you want me to save that kid or not?”

The creature rose up on massive clawed paws, stalking slowly around her. But she didn’t attack. “Save one child, or your kingdom. Which is more important?”

“Why not both?” Nyx asked. “I’m all about the whole greater good thing, but then you get into killing a kid who didn’t do anything, and I check right out.”

Was it her imagination, or was that sound laughter? Nyx looked up into her face stubbornly, unmoved by the spirit’s disapproval. “Rarely do mortals have such choices. You move against things greater than yourself. The Dark Mother is without beginning of days, or end of years. Her pleasures and agonies extend forever. You cannot fight destiny.”

“Maybe.” Nyx folded her arms. “But if we couldn’t win, you wouldn’t be talking to me. There’d be no point. And if she was really all-powerful, the Dark Mother wouldn’t need a cult trying to summon her. She could just show up whenever she wanted. But someone is doing this.”

Lymn stopped just inches away from her, great muzzle within reach of Nyx’s throat. But she only laughed again. “Sometimes destiny has help. The dark currents she brings warp and tear at the fabric, filling the night with screams. A witch named Silvia Ortiz. Have you found her yet?”

“No,” Nyx said, repeating the name in her head several times until she thought it would stick. The last name was familiar, but that was probably just coincidence. It was common enough with Seattle on the other side of Elenia’s portal. “I assume if I stop her, I can save Enoch.”

“Don’t assume.” The dark eye over Lymn’s head seemed to get brighter, its pupil looking straight through Nyx. She retreated again, feeling suddenly naked even with all the armor she’d dreamed herself wearing. “Act.”

She woke with a gasp, scattering her pile of books. But unlike many dreams, that one didn’t fade. The name was still fresh in her mind, and it gave her something to go on.

Nyx hadn’t heard it before, but that didn’t matter much: every citizen in Elenia passed through the Institute at some point. She just had to go through the records there.

She did her best to reshelf everything as quickly as she could, then slipped back into the castle. There were no guards waiting outside to arrest her, no sign they even cared she was leaving after curfew. Without the Arsen family here, nobody cared what happened at their castle.

It was early morning by the time Nyx found herself at the Institute’s records room, relieved she could find what she could looking for without having to break in. With the M.A.S.T. approaching, there wasn’t even an annoyed record-keeper to insist that she put everything back where she found it.

Silvia Ortiz had not ever passed through the Institute, or if she had she’d somehow expunged her student record—but the last name Ortiz did turn up a pair of files, with several of Nyx’s own signatures scrawled beside some of the grades. She took them back to her office, waving off a few students who would have to find their own solutions to their problems today.

Once the door was locked behind her, Nyx spread both files across her cramped desk, reading quickly under the watchful eyes of the little slime from his jar on her shelf. 

There were three sisters, as it turned out, not just the two. Silvia was mentioned in both of the other files, though she’d come to Middara by way of another portal and so had not been educated at the Institute.

“Wonder what happened after they graduated,” she asked, mostly to herself. From inside his jar, Toast made an annoyed squeak.

“Fine,” she groaned, ripping the top off a tube of sugar candy and dumping the whole thing in on him. He started frothing happily, cycling from green to pink in his excitement.

But while her pet was enjoying himself, Nyx’s mood just got darker as she read. In his paranoia, King Balthazar had ensured that events of significance involving Elenia’s new citizens were recorded here. What had happened to Ortiz sisters Sandra and Salma wasn’t good.

According to the file, the family’s manor had burned in a mysterious accident less than five years after their graduation. The vault had been robbed, along with every object of value in the house. Unfortunately it was far outside Elenia’s borders, in territory claimed by their unfriendly neighbor to the northwest. 

There was only the name of the lead investigator, one Christopher Amaya, and the report he’d sent back.

This thing is fishy as hell, but none of their neighbors will talk. No bodies—I think something worse was going on in that house. If I find out what happened to your students or their family, I’ll send word. 

But there were no further reports, nothing else in either one of the files except for a single playing card clipped into Sandra’s folder. Portrait drawn for Abraxis Battle Dice.

Nyx looked between their faces, even painted in exaggerated form for the collectable game. The artist had been skilled enough to capture Sandra and Salma faithfully, anyway. She smiled quietly to herself, remembering when they’d been her students fresh from Earth. No alien marks had appeared on them, and they’d taken her lessons seriously. I sure hope neither of you are caught up in this. Between them was a face she didn’t know, the one that must be Silvia. You don’t look much like an evil cultist.

It was her only lead. Nyx slipped both files away, rising from her chair. “Here, Toast,” she tapped the rest of the sugar-tube into the jar, then replaced the cap. It was time to visit the embassy.