Dungeon Crusade - Book I: Genesis of Evil

The big reveal of the Origins dungeon board!
over 7 years ago – Sun, Dec 11, 2016 at 11:33:59 PM

Hello Crusaders of Avalon!!! :) Rodger here and i hope everyone is doing awesome out there and getting ready for Christmas! And only 2 weeks away???!!! Time just flies nowadays.

ORIGINS DUNGEON BOARD:

So let me tell you, this past week I dedicated to the Origins dungeon board. I had to run the patrol routes, and add a few assets to it, along with the spawn points. Shaun did a outstanding job on recreating it. 

As I said before, there were some glaring issues that I had personally with the prototype Origins dungeon board I created. Such as chambers that would spill over into other quadrants of the dungeon, the Halls of the Dead (east & west) were put way too high in the north eastern part of the dungeon. I wanted that lowered a bit, so players could get to that corner, I wanted quadrants of the dungeon color coded for players to easily read where everything was at, and a few other things that needed correcting 

So what I did was create a quick sketch to rectify all the problems, lined up everything perfectly, then passed it over to Shaun for him to work his magic on. And wow, did he work some magic or what! :)

What I was striving for all along was I wanted the dungeon to be reminiscent of Warhammer Quest & Heroquest, but still have many unique elements to give Dungeon Crusade it's own identity. I truly think we captured that in the Origins dungeon board. 

Here is the debut trailer for the Origins dungeon board...enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71JtPNNUqoo

Here are some pics for you to check out also....

 LOL...I think you're liking this right? Shaun is just simply amazing. The colors he choose to use were just spot on. I was so inspired by his design, I came up with so many new quests for us to play. Next update I'm going to share one that just popped into my head as soon as I saw this dungeon. It's entitled, "Flowers for the Fallen".  It involves a statue Shaun painted in the dungeon. But do remember, you will be able to also create your own quests, and upload them to the Dungeon Crusade web site for others to download and try out, and vice versa. 

So HERE IS SOMETHING IMPORTANT!!!!. What I'm about to ask you guys is totally up to you. I'm stepping out, and whatever the majority decides, we are going to roll with. So check it out....

In each of the quadrants, I added a banner on one chamber to tell you of course what quadrant that is. Right now, there is just one banner per quadrant. So what would you guys prefer?

A) Leave it the way it is. One banner on one chamber to tell you the name of the quadrant.  

OR

B) I can put a banner on each chamber in that quadrant.

The choice is yours, you tell me. Also, I made a "pow wow" video. In this video I discuss what I just asked you guys, and we compare the prototype board to the new one, and chat about some of the slight revisions coming to the new Origins dungeon board. Here is a link to the video for you >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlwbLjV0G84&feature=youtu.be

Oh...LOL, excuse my painted fingers in the video! Today I put all the dungeon doors together, and had to paint the very sides of them. It took about 5-6 hours to do 45 doors. I had to cut 45 pieces of balsa wood, use a dremel to create that curvature to those round doors, then adhere the dungeon door art to each side of the balsa wood, then paint the edges. LOL, yes, it's very tedious and time consuming for sure, but I wanted you guys to see the Origins board in all it's glory! :) 

So to close out this section, please leave some comments below so we can chat about what you think. I truly hope you like how the doors and board came out! :) 

VILLAGE BOARD:

And this was truly a pleasant surprise last night. I got an email from Damien, and he had started work on the village board! So I asked Damien permission to show this to you guys. He said totally cool, BUT please explain this is a VERY early look, and it is a WIP, (work in progress). 

So take a look at how the village board is coming along....

 Now if you saw Damien's work on the map of Avalon, the final village board is going to look astounding! I believe he is going to have this done within a few weeks. So I hope you enjoyed that. :) 

UPDATED MONSTER CARD:

So I showed you last update the brand new level 3 champion monster, Blackhand Defiler. I reworked him a little bit, and he is MUCH more deadly with his new special ability. This of course will only be on the elite version of the Blackhand Defiler....

 Notice how he has 2 different abilities? As we get into the level 4 champion monsters, this will be common for them. 

IN CLOSING:

Everyone on the team is still doing what task they are on as I mentioned last update. For me, I'm going to be touching up the patrol routes on the Origins board, writing some quests this week and laying out more of the Castle Blackwood board. I'm just really excited to see how that's going to turn out when Shaun gets a hold of it.

But again, this past week was totally devoted to the Origins dungeon board. I really wanted that ready for this update to share with you guys. 

OK guys, I'm out. I promised myself I would be in bed by 2:00 a.m. tonight! So leave some comments below, and we will chat it up tomorrow evening if you like.

Have a great day all, and I'll be talking to you soon....Rodger :)   

Official logo, new monster, Archer hero, Origins dungeon sneak peek and more!
over 7 years ago – Mon, Dec 05, 2016 at 08:25:57 PM

HELLO fellow Crusaders of Avalon!!! :) Rodger here, and I hope everyone is doing great this evening/day. Wait...just wait....it's only 3 weeks to XMAS??!! I mean really? I feel like time is just flying by nowadays. I hope everyone out there had a great thanksgiving with your family and friends and had a terrific feast!

LOL, maybe Dungeon Crusade is keeping me busy? Maybe just a little, but I truly love working on this game with you guys, and sharing all of this stuff with you.

As you know last weekend was a lite update, but sharing that video of the massive content update with you was really fun I think. I did accomplish everything i set out to do to get the house ready for the holidays, so all is happy here. But right after that, it was a very productive week for Dungeon Crusade....I mean like Uber productive guys. But it's great to be back with you guys and show you some very cool stuff this weekend.

There is so much in this update, I really don't know where to start. Well...let's start with the official Dungeon Crusade logo that myself and Jesse finally got finalized today. 

I put a small reveal video together is you guys would like to check that. I came out really good. So shoot over here if you want, watch it, and head back here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaDghF5M_N8

And here is the new logo....

 So this logo will be on everything Dungeon Crusade. Especially the cover art of the game box. Jesse Hansen of Cornerstone Creative Studios really assisted me in recreating what I had envisioned for this logo. He truly is a super and talented artist

I really wanted to design the logo on my own, ya'know, make it personal. It took a LONG time to think of a great looking logo. Many different ideas, concepts, revisions, etc.

LOL, this my be TMI, but I envisioned the final logo while showering and washing my hair...I know, kinda weird..but the GOD's honest truth. So I put together this logo I had thought of, and forwarded it to Jesse for him to professionally recreate, and put his touch on it. Myself and Jesse worked together the last few days on making this finally come together. 

Jesse did an OUTSTANDING job of doing what I had envisioned for this logo. I wanted this to look very retro, and pay homage to some of the games from back in the day that influenced me in making Dungeon Crusade. I hope you guys like this! :) 

I also manage the facebook Dungeon Crusade site, and a new profile pic was in order for that page So I started putting some ideas I had in mind together and got working on it in my program, and came up with this. A fairly epic profile pic to represent Dungeon Crusade with I believe. I thought you guys might want to see it...

 NEW MONSTER:

So I have a new monster for you guys. A level 3 champion monster, "Blackhand Defiler". This is the elite version you are going to see. For those of you who don't know, I created an evil faction in Dungeon Crusade called "The Blackhand Army". Their an evil, malevolent faction trying to take control of Avalon. At one time, they  "were" human, but they have sacrificed their souls to become part of this demonic army led by the guardian Lord Blackhand. So throughout the game, your heroes will run into different members of the Blackhand Army.

 As always, here is the legend for the warfare traits....

 And do remember, besides the elite champions there is normal versions for champion monsters that have their origins stories on it, instead of a special ability. Here is the full poster pic of the Blackhand Defiler....

 And Jesse had sent me the level 2 champion monster Blackhand Blademaster, but I didn't have enough time to get it into the update. Next week for sure. ;) 

On the subject of monsters, I submitted to Cornerstone Creative Studios the design docs for the level 4 champion monsters. So we will see them starting to make an appearance. The level 4's consist of Crypt Fiend, Death Knight, Queen of the Blackhand, Beast of the Faith, Ogre Chieftain, Enraged Troll and Ancient Horror. So 7 normal versions, 7 elites. 

 HEROES SPECIAL ABILITY CARDS:

Before we get into these, I have to give a huge shout to Kez and Tom. Kez did the card design for us, while Tom did the awesome icons upon the cards. A truly outstanding job by these guys! :) 

I managed to get all of the first 6 heroes special abilities done this week, and these really got honed to perfection. Let me show you a table of all the cards arranged for you to take a look at. Just a note here. I uploaded the pic of the full table, but KS shrinks it way down so you couldn't make it out. So I just went into my program and divided it up so you can now see everything more up close...

 I truly perfected and honed these special abilities for each hero. For example, if a hero doesn't have a certain weapon equipped, they can't use the special ability, and it makes sense. Example....

The Archer hero has a very cool special ability called "Pinning Shot." This special ability is dependent on her having a ranged warfare weapon. If she doesn't have a bow, (ranged warfare weapon), she can't use that ability. 

Another example is the Wizard. Now a wizard uses a staff usually to cast spells right? Same in Dungeon Crusade. A Wizard without a staff can't cast some special abilities. 

I just refuse to just "throw" a special ability in the game. I really wanted to take my time to develop fun and tactical special abilities for us to use while playing Dungeon Crusade. :) 

So we haven't done this in a while. Let's look at one of the Wizard's special abilities, "Magic Missile", and see how it may play out in the dungeon....

Now notice right there at the bottom. The wizard must have a arcane warfare weapon to use Magic Missile. It makes sense right? Well, in fantasy gaming at least. ;) 

So let's look at the dungeon and see what the situation is....

 So the Wizard is a few spaces away from being in line of sight of Banevik, one of the Guardians. Notice the 2 minions adjacent to Banevik. A few heroes are around the Wizard and are planning a huge attack on Banevik and the 2 minions. It's time for the Wizard to make his move....

 The Wizard moves into place and unloads a salvo of Magic Missiles at Banevik! Take a look at the Magic Missile card. The Wizard activated this card by paying 4 essence. But now that he has cast Magic Missile, it's time to see the outcome of what the Magic Missiles did in damage.

 According to the card, the Wizard player must roll a D8 to see the outcome. The D8 is rolled, and 8 is rolled! He has done 2 damage to Banevik, and from how the card reads, any monster adjacent to the target take 1 damage! The Wizard has softened up the monster now for an all out attack with his fellow heroes! :) 

I hope you guys liked that little demo of a special ability. We'll get more into the special abilities in the next few updates, as there is much more I'd like to share with you.

BLESSING CARDS:

Another awesome thing is the blessing cards are coming together. David Shearer sent me the Blessing card backing, and it looks pretty stellar guys...take a look at the backing, then we'll discuss it a bit...

 OK, I'll say it...What a totally rad card! Awesome work on David Shearer's part. That thing is awesome. So David and me were discussing the priest on the card casting the blessing. It's kind of sketchy right? Blessings are 200 gold each, and can be found at the temple in the village on celebration day.

Now there are 2 outcomes to Blessings. Either you're going to reveal a blessing. or you're not going to get one. LOL, and don't worry...I wrote some very sad, melancholy lines for these cards that have dark clouds on them, if you did not receive a blessing. ;)

However, if you did receive a Blessing, the card will reveal a beautiful angel that will aid you in some way on your dark journey. Some of these angels are pretty powerful to say the least...but you got to be lucky enough to get one. :) 

And you may ONLY  reveal your Blessing upon returning to the dungeon. You must leave your Blessing card face down until that time.

And the incredible artist Tom is right now finishing up the angels of Dungeon Crusade. When we spoke about them, he was really excited to do these, and looking forward to them. He sent some rough sketches of the angels so far, and they. are. AWESOME! I hope to have these within the next week, hopefully? But I would like to show you them all at once. So we have that to look forward to.

NEW HERO ART:

So Jesse, Joseph and Freddy from Cornerstone Creative Studios got the Archer hero done for us this week. This is the one I have been telling you is the new version. Remember the other archer girl? Well here is the brand new Archer hero for Dungeon Crusade....awesome work guys as usual! :)

 I'm really happy how she came out. And notice how she is dressed...this is the kind of stuff I'd like the female heroes to look like in Dungeon Crusade. Classy, deadly and plain out awesome. 

While we're at it, let's take a look at her level 1 hero card....

 Some fonts will be changing on these hero cards. Notice the name plate. There will be brighter fonts there so it's very clear to read. 

A SNEAK PEEK AT THE FINAL ORIGINS DUNGEON BOARD:

So Shaun has sent me a VERY close to final version of the Origins dungeon board. What I have to do this coming week is add in the patrol routes and spawn points to the dungeon. Well, the spawn points are done, so I'm on the patrol routes right now. Plus I have to add in a few things in regards to the minions for movement. 

But just WOW! Shaun truly out did himself with this recreating of the Origins board. The dungeon looks, and reads so much better. What I'm shooting for is to film a "world debut" trailer towards the end of the week, and include it in next weeks update. I'm going to try to get the doors done also. So what you see, is what you will be getting in your game! By the way, here is the doors Shaun created for the dungeons. Of course these are going to be the size of the ones you saw in my prototype.

 So let me explain the pic you are going to see. I have not yet printed the final origins dungeon board yet, because I'm still working on it. But I'm creating this, "digital table" so to speak. LOL, some of you guys have seen my props, so I'm always coming up with something kinda different to build. But what I'm doing is I'm creating a gaming table, but in the center, is going to have a big LCD display. The reason I'm doing this is to playtest dungeon boards, without printing them. LOL, yes..I'm very frugal. ;)

So this way, I can hook up a laptop to it, take the dungeon board I'm working on from my workstation PC, throw it on a flash drive, put it into the laptop then display it on the LCD and play Dungeon Crusade on it. I've done this before, and it works really well, and saves on printing the board out until it's fully done. Printing huge dungeon boards can add up fast.

So take a look at this sneak peek of the Origins board Shaun did  on a digital display. It really does look kind of cool, and works perfectly. :)

 So I hope you like the look of this. I truly does look incredible. Oh, another thing i can share with you is the new spawn points Shaun created. If you remember, this was my prototype one from the game...

 Now here is the new spawn point for the dungeon Shaun created. LOL...yes, It is freaking awesome....he kept the skulls!!!!! :) YES!!!!! LOL

 And as always, try to tune in to Shaun's weekly stream on Twitch Friday's at 4P.M. EST. You can sit in on his Dungeon Crusade creation session, and watch as he creates the loot for Dungeon Crusade. Here is the link to get there >>> https://www.twitch.tv/shmaba

IN CLOSING:

So you know what I will be doing this week, getting the patrol routes implemented on the Origins board, and finalizing all of that for the big debut next weekend. Plus some other things for the game such as card updates.

Kez is still on the treasure chest cards, and Shaun is on the loot and a few other things.

That's what i was going to mention to you guys. We are going to be starting work on the Castle Blackwood dungeon board next, and I'm really amped up for this. Me and Shaun have alot of great ideas we would like to do for this dungeon. 

What I came up with is, (on my rough sketch), there will be an outdoor area surrounding the castle. There will be a few parts that are a forest, a graveyard with underground crypts, and just maybe a secret passage into the castle. ;) The center of the board will be the inside of the castle. TONS of ideas I have as well as Shaun.

David Shearer of course is working on the card backings still. He is on the mining and loot card backings presently. And I did mention Tom is working on the angels for the Blessing deck. 

The guys at Cornerstone Creative Studios are working away on more monsters for us, so I would expect a good batch next update as well. 

Wowsa.....I think this update should have been called a "MEGA ULTRA HYPER COMBO" update. But, I love sharing all of this with you guys. I'll be in here with you guys tomorrow to chat about anything in the update you would like to discuss. 

I hope you enjoyed this update, and it excites you more for the game! :) Well, the clock on the wall reads 4:09 a.m.,,,,maybe I should go to bed now huh? LOL!

Have a great day guys, talk to you soon...Rodger :) 

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all crusaders + massive content update.
over 7 years ago – Fri, Nov 25, 2016 at 11:22:33 PM

HELLO ALL CRUSADERS OF AVALON!!!!!! :) LOL, how are all of you doing! I have to apologize to you. I was trying to get this update done yesterday morning to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving, but getting ready for our Thanksgiving just consumed me. 

But I hope all of you had a great thanksgiving, or where ever in the world you may have celebrated it. At our home before we have dinner on Thanksgiving, we go around the table and say what we are thankful for.

LOL, mine took the longest for sure. As I said some nice words about Dungeon Crusade and thankful for meeting ALL of you truly awesome backers, and the great time we are having creating this game for us to enjoy together. :

So I must be honest with you guys, this is an early update of course. I promised my family (mostly my most patient wife), I would dedicate this weekend on helping get the house ready for XMAS. Getting our tree out of the storage area, taking it up stairs, decorating it, (I have been told I do an awesome job at decorating XMAS trees), getting lights out, etc. I'm sure you guys know the drill. The tree alone just takes forever to decorate. With the stand it's about 13-14 feet tall, and about 3-4 hours of assembly, wrapping the lights, and decorating it. I hope that wasn't TMI, but i do like sharing with you guys what I'm doing in life.    

But I really want to share with you a massive content update I got completed for the new playthrough video, which I'm really amped to do. So much got accomplished this past week. The new loot weapon cards are fully updated with gold prices, encounter cards are final, treasure chest cards are fully updated, monsters have been tweaked, new tokens have been implemented plus a few other things. This was a major push towards the new playthrough video, and getting the content ready for the final cards and tokens that will be in the game.

But let me explain so it's clear. I would always want a final hard copy of Dungeon Crusade that is a fully operational prototype game. I consider this the bible for Dungeon Crusade, for lack of a better term. It's so easy now to just refer to the "hard copy" of Dungeon Crusade, and create the final content with it.  

So I put together a nice video where you will be in the heart of D.C. labs where the playtesting happens, the changes are made, printed out, then go into a small production room where everything is cut and adhered to the cardstock, then brought back into the playtesting room and implemented into the game. It really is a great system that finally came together and is working beautifully and highly efficiently. I truly LOVE hanging out in here playing and working on the game! :) Here is the link for the video >>>  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTOssOJfYTM&feature=youtu.be

So in closing, everyone is on task with getting the content done as we have seen over the past weeks. There is much in store for the weeks ahead with content that's being created right now from many of the artists. 

I hope everyone enjoys the video, and has an awesome weekend. I'm off to get XMAS decorations accomplished, then work on the game for the remainder of the night and weekend. Feel free to comment on anything you would like to talk about, I love hearing from you guys! 

Have a great day, talk to you soon...Rodger :)

p.s. I created a new poster for the web site (which is being worked on by Jesse), and the Dungeon Crusade fan page on facebook. I thought you might like to have a look!

Final map of Avalon + video, new monsters, special abilities, encounter card!
over 7 years ago – Sun, Nov 20, 2016 at 11:40:58 PM

A good evening most valiant crusaders of Avalon, Rodger here, and I hope everyone is doing great and enjoying the weekend. As for me, I'm doing GREAT! LOL,  I'm totally FIRED up tonight! :) 

I have been reworking the D. C. labs, and getting stuff in order to make this a true playtesting room for Dungeon Crusade. I got the deal of the day this week on a huge 6x4 dry erase board, that is almost brand new for only $20! Thank you Craigslist! ;) 

 I'm going to be mounting it after I get this update done. I wanted something like this on the wall during playtesting to jot down different notes pertaining to the game, so I can head right to the workstation PC and make revisions right away.  

So let's get on with this weeks update!

GO CHECK THE COMMENT SECTION:

You don't have to do this now, but some awesome backers asked some great questions over the past week and I addressed them with my level 8 special ability "Wall of Text". LOL, I didn't want to copy and paste it all here, so when you get a chance, have a look in the comment section.

NEW MONSTERS:

As we always do when new monsters are shown, here is the legend for some folks who may not know what the warfare symbols mean....

 So this week we have 2 new monsters, but I did create the normal and elite version of the Afflicted for you. So have a look at the Afflicted! A level 1 champion monster....

First the normal version....

 And now the elite version....

 And do keep in mind, we will be changing the color of a few different things on the champion monsters to differentiate from the normal and elite. 

Of course the awesome folks at Cornerstone Creative Studios is bringing us this incredible art. So to Joseph Arnold (pencils), Jesse Hansen (inks) and Freddy Lopez (colors), another outstanding job on bringing these monsters and creatures to life! :) 

The next monster is a level 1 champion monster, the Giant Spider. Freddy created this one on his own, and just did a superb job on this amazing piece. I created the elite version for you to check out...enjoy!

 PRO TIP: If you are playing, and you send a lone hero into a chamber, and discover an elite Giant Spider resides in the chamber, EVADE OUT! 

Yeah, you will have to place a token on the incantation track for your cowardly act, but this monster will whittle down a heroes health and essence uber fast. 

Now if this hero is versed in 2 of those 3 warfare types,  and is equipped with a weapon in each hand that compliment their warfare traits, maybe there is a good chance on killing it. 

But if a hero is not versed in any of those warfare traits on the Giant Spiders card, and has 2 weapons that are not a dagger, axe or sword or any gear to boost those 3 warfare types, get out of that chamber sparky!!! ;)  LOL!

On the comment section I mentioned at the start of the update, I discuss the difficulty levels of Dungeon Crusade. Normal, expert and heroic. Have a look if you get a chance.

Tons of more monsters are on the way guys...tons more.

ENCOUNTER CARD:

I wanted to share an encounter card with you guys, but truth be told, I would like to keep these cards a secret for you, but I would like to share one here and there with you. I just want to surprise you while you are playing. But with 74 unique encounters, a few won't hurt right?

So let's take a look at this one, and then discuss the encounter cards a bit. Camron Browne of course has created all of the creative and cool pieces of art for the encounter cards....

  And of course here is the backing to the encounter cards. The backing was created by the incredibly talented and creative David Shearer...

 And do remember, encounter cards are not bad! There is a good mix of good, bad, environment cards and challenges the heroes will undertake. You will never know what will come next from the encounter deck, and it's one of the coolest features of Dungeon Crusade I believe. 

Very soon we will be putting all the encounter cards together. All of the art is done of course, and one of the tech writers, (Charlene) will be assisting me with editing the text for the final version that will be on the cards. Right now I'm in the midst of acquiring some great fonts to get this task done.

As I have said before, I LOVED creating all of these encounter for gamer's to experience, and would like a chance to create even more for Dungeon Crusade "if" we did something next year along the lines of a massive expansion. ;) 

HEROES SPECIAL ABILITIES:

As promised, here is some more of the heroes special abilities. There was a wee little mistake last week for the knights special ability card. That has been corrected and I'll repost it here along with the new ones.

As you saw in the past updates, the awesome artist known as Tom Feldmann has been knocking out these special ability icons for us, and they are looking truly unique and awesome!

First up the knights special ability "Charge" now corrected...

 The Knight is going to be more of a support type of hero with his special abilities. The other abilities of his are "Tactical Warfare" and "Protector".

Next up is one of the clerics special abilities, "Holy Damage". When she deals spiritual warfare damage, she can really bring the hurt to the monsters, especially if you decide to keep gaining the higher levels of Holy Damage.

 The barbarian has a special ability called "Frenzied Charge". The barbarian can rush forward, and land a hit if he ends his movement adjacent to a monster.

 I hope you enjoyed those, and gets you hyped up more for Dungeon Crusade. Next week I will have more for for you guys. 

Something I would like to say and reinforce is about the heroes special abilities. I want to create very easy to use ones that are fun and not hard to decipher. I truly don't believe for the nature of what Dungeon Crusade is, or what I want it to be, it just wouldn't feel right to have overly complex special abilities, and I think most gamer's would agree with this. I just want to get people in, give them a fun time and play the game!

A CLOSE TO FINAL MAP OF AVALON:

OK, now this map...this freaking map of Avalon is just mind blowing. Period. You probably know Damien Mammoliti recreated my map of Avalon that I made. As a side note, Damien created the map for last year's RPG of the year, The Witcher 3:Wild Hunt. That map is also stunning! 

But what he has done with Avalon is just...OK, you just have to see this already! :)

 Now this map is very large in size, and I knew KS wouldn't display it in all of it's glory.

 I HIGHLY encourage you guys to watch this video I put together that shows it off beautifully. I'm also using new software for capturing video, and a really good mic. No more recording off screen! ;) You really have to see this map up close....here is the link for it >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9r_RpAY64M&t=168s

So what we have to do now is divide up the map by each of the 50 different locations with very small white dotted lines for the Avalon Adventure board game. If you remember how to play, the 6 heroes start out at Hope's Reach, and must journey across Avalon to recover the 3 runes (green, yellow and red) from each of the 3 locations. 

There are 6 fake runes, and of course 3 real runes. Every game they are randomly scattered over Avalon. While traveling across Avalon, the heroes may find gold, loot, take damage, be stricken with afflictions and many different events and challenges to undertake. 

When the heroes recover the 3 runes, the curse on the dungeon doors are shattered, and you proceed to play Dungeon Crusade. But before playing, the heroes can visit the villages temple to heal, rest at the inn to recover essence, spend their gold on gear at the blacksmith, or stock up on potions at the bazaar. 

I hope you enjoyed the video of Damien's awesome recreation of Avalon! I also encourage everyone to take a look at his web site and some of his incredible art. Here's a link for you >>> http://www.boneandbrush.com/

IN CLOSING:

So what's going on with me is just a bunch of stuff. Of course playtesting, and I'm almost finished with the level 4 champion monster design docs for Jesse and company. 

David Shearer is hard at work on the 3 card backings he is doing right now (Blessing, Mining and Loot cards), and we have be conversing about that. 

I spoke to Jesse today about any new monsters that will be final and upcoming, and I believe Freddy is coloring some of them, so we should be seeing some next update.

Shaun has been fairly busy, but he did supply me with the art for the dungeon doors (the doors that go in the black plastic stands) that you place in front of the chambers in the dungeon. Next update I will try to get actual pics on the board for you to see how they look. LOL, I assure you they look very good indeed. ;) 

If you can, tune in to Shaun's weekly stream show on Twitch Friday's at 4P.M. EST. You can sit in on his Dungeon Crusade creation session, and watch as he creates the loot for Dungeon Crusade. Here is the link to get there >>> https://www.twitch.tv/shmaba

Kez is still working on the treasure chest card deck. I'll have to touch base with her to see how she is doing, and how goes the treasure chest cards.

And this little surprise gift I have for you guys is getting finalized this week. It has really come out better than I had thought. I'm truly shooting for next update to reveal it with a world debut trailer! :) 

So everything is going very awesome I believe. I hope you guys enjoyed this update and I'll be in the update comment section tomorrow with you guys to talk about whatever. 

And I do want to say, from my family to yours, I hope EVERYONE has a great thanksgiving this coming Thursday. Enjoy your time with your family and friends. Have a great day guys, talk to you soon...Rodger :) 

A BIG SHOUT OUT TO AN AWESOME CREATOR AND HIS PROJECT:

I wanted to give a shout out to a awesome guy and creator by the name of Matt Jalali. I had the pleasure of meeting Matt (over facebook) and he has a awesome little game on kickstarter right now. The great news is it is funded, and looks to be a quite interesting game to say the least. 

If you get a chance, head over to Matt's page and have a gander. A HUGE congratz to Matt on getting funded! :) Here is the link for you guys >>> https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/496908901/game-of-trolls-a-card-game-for-jerks-and-their-jer?ref=project_share

2 new monsters, reworked warfare icons, hero cards, new special ability!
over 7 years ago – Sun, Nov 13, 2016 at 11:56:53 PM

A good evening fellow Crusaders of Avalon!!!! :) Rodger here and I hope everyone out there is doing great and enjoying their weekend. For sure it has been a busy week for me. Lots of DC related stuff, rearranging the D.C. labs studio room, working on the game but it all has been good fun. 

Before we get going, I do have to say I did indulge myself with picking up one of those new mini Classic Nintendo Entertainment Systems. I don't know if you guys have seen these yet, but these little systems look just like the old 8-bit Nintendo consoles and controllers. It comes packed with 30 all time classic games from the 80's.  One of my favorite games is even included, Final Fantasy, which was one of many games that influenced me over the years in doing Dungeon Crusade. The systems are only $59.99, (if you can find one), but I thought I'd share that here with you guys, as I think many of us have fond memories of the good gaming times back in the 80's and into the early 90's. So check it out if you can! :)

As I always do, here is the legend in case we get some new folks in here who want to get up to speed on what the warfare icons mean....

NEW MONSTERS:

So here is a few new monsters for you guys to check out. A couple of things first.

Please take note of the warfare icons on these monster cards. Earlier in the week I really put the axe to the grind on getting these icons looking perfect. The white border now is gone, but notice now how much better they pop now, even the chaos warfare icon.

I took each one of the icons and tweaked the saturation, and in the program I use a setting called levels. I moved the input value up, and it resulted in the icons looking much more vibrant. 

Take a look, and tell me what you think!

 Of course this is the normal version of the skeleton warrior. The elite version has a special ability called "regenerate", which gives it life back at the end of a combat round, if your heroes didn't kill it!

Here is a small promo poster I put together for the skeleton warrior....

 And the second monster, or rather creature is the level 1 Massive Viper. Here is the elite version for your viewing pleasure! 

 And we have to mention here, the skeleton warrior and the massive viper were done by the ultra creative and talented Freddy Lopez a team member from Cornerstone Creative Studios. Just WOWSA! on both of those! But some of you may know, skeleton warriors are my most favorite fantasy monsters of all time, so I'm totally loving the skeleton warrior! 

SO MANY more monsters on the way. Truly we haven't even scratched the surface yet on how many monsters you will be seeing coming your way. The level 4 champion monsters are coming...Crypt Fiend, Death Knight, Queen of the Black hand, Ancient Horror, Enraged Troll...LOL, I can keep going! I believe we will have new monsters next update according to my sources. ;) 

So right now I would like to post all of the monsters thus far I have shown, but with the new tweaked warfare icons. You may notice the chaos warfare icon (the axe) is a little smaller, and wasn't as bright as the monsters you saw above. These will be changed out in the near future,,,,
 

 In closing out this section, remember that I have spoken to Jesse at Cornerstone Creative Studios, and we will be doing some color changes on the normal and elite champion monsters so they will look different from each other. 

FINAL HERO CARD DESIGN:

So Shaun just nailed it with the hero card design. I'm really happy how these turned out. 

Now do understand, I really wanted to show you guys these hero cards, so I took a very early concept of the archer hero and placed her on the card. This IS NOT the final archer hero. The final one is awaiting coloring from Freddy, and looks absolutely fantastic! The final one is more clothed, and just looks bad @$$ to the tenth power.

So for now enjoy these 2 hero cards. Also, notice some of the colors on each of these cards. Each hero is represented by a color. Knight=red, archer=blue, wizard=green, rogue=purple, cleric=orange and barbarian=black.

 

 Shaun is nearly finished with the origins dungeon board, I believe he is still adding the lighting effects to it. We should have that very soon. I just have to say again about Shaun, this guy just gives 100% all the time, and he is such a awesome, nice guy! :)

Do try to check out Shaun's weekly stream show on Twitch Friday's at 4P.M. EST. You can watch his Dungeon Crusade creation session, chat and watch him create Dungeon Crusade loot in real time! Here is the link to get there >>>  https://www.twitch.tv/shmaba

NEW SPECIAL ABILITY:

And oh wow...Tom is just cranking out these freaking awesome icons for the heroes special ability cards. I had only time to prepare one of them for you, but next update I will have more for you. I believe he has only 6 more to make for the first 6 heroes, and he will be on a ultra awesome task he is looking forward to creating for us. LOL, expect something awesome in a few weeks my friends! ;) 

But for now, check out one of the clerics special abilities, "Divine Healing"....

 Now I'm telling you, I am overly critical on laying out these special abilities perfectly so you know exactly how to use them. I HATE playing some games and there is a sense of ambiguity on how to exactly use some special abilities. This will not be the case in Dungeon Crusade. :)

Notice on the card above, this special ability can be used in the dungeon or chamber. If you could not use it in one of those locations, there would be that red X over the either the dungeon corridor or chamber door signifying it could not be used in that location. 

I have some really awesome abilities coming for the bard hero I think you guys are going to like. When Tom gets to her icons, I want him to create musical instruments for her special ability icons. One of her special abilities will be called "Inspiring Hymn". When activated, she can restore some of a heroes essence. I would like him to create a lute for this special ability icon. 

IN CLOSING:

I'm doing a few different things. I just finished up the revised content for the celebration day gifts the heroes receive on celebration day, I have been tweaking some of the stuff on the village board, working on the level 4 champion monster design docs for Cornerstone Creative Studios, playtesting some of the monsters warfare values and special abilities. 

Case in point, ya'know that Massive Viper you saw way at the top? I nerfed it's values just a tad fpr the normal difficulty and you have better chances on the loot roll now. 

Originally you had to test strength 13, and a physical resistance 15, and the loot roll was 18+. LOL, don't worry, they didn't go far. Those values will be on the heroic difficulty Massive Viper monster card, with a little higher warfare values to boot! ;) 

David Shearer is still working on the backings for the loot cards, mining cards and the blessing cards. I hope I will have the loot card backing next update.

Kez is still working on the treasure chest cards, and I believe I mentioned she sent me some of the them, WOW! They look totally killer. She wanted me to wait to show them until they are in a polished state. Trust me, they look GREAT!

Damien is finishing up the Avalon map for the Avalon adventure board game. VERY excited to see the final map. And of course will be sharing here for you guys to check out.

Oh, and the little surprise I have for you guys is just about ready! We are just polishing up a few things, and next update it should be ready to debut! And remember, this will be free!  

OK guys, I'm off to bed. I hope you enjoyed this update, and I will be in the update comment section tomorrow to see how everyone is doing, and chat with you.

I hope you guys have a good day and a great week! Thanks for checking out the update, talk to you soon...Rodger :)