Embark on a Tarot adventure! Wield magic and fight tyranny across the Renaissance world in this TTRPG powered by card divination.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Dioscorian Dispatch: It’s BackerKit time!
12 months ago
– Wed, Nov 29, 2023 at 07:25:53 AM
Esteemed agents,
We kept you waiting a few more days, but now it's time for BackerKit. We have just clicked the appropriate button, which will now open the gates to our pledge manager. In the next 48 hours, approximately 10% of you will receive emails with an invite as part of the so-called smoke test, which might reveal potential hiccups. Once the smoke test is complete (current estimate: 48 hours), we’ll contact the remaining 90% to partake in some pledge managing fun on BackerKit!
A group of backers enjoying BackerKit, as portrayed by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Backer manager? PledgeKit? WHAT WHAT, some of you new to this will now scream at the screen. Let me quickly elaborate: The pledge manager is a tool that allows us to manage your pledges and calculate shipping. Why do we need this again? Because Kickstarter currently doesn’t offer a complete and detailed system to handle both items and their resulting weight. Hence the need for the pledge manager, and we have chosen Backerkit because it is neat and accessible!
You will be able to upgrade your pledge (as requested by numerous folks during the campaign), add some additional items, and handle your shipping. Please be advised that you can change your shipping address at a later point, but this might change the shipping fee, depending on your new location.
A few words regarding the shipping fee: The world of logistics hasn’t been too kind to us regarding pricing, and especially international shipping (parcels go out from Poland) is now more expensive than a few years ago. Rest assured that we are aware of this, and we are doing everything within our power to keep these fees as low as possible. As of this moment, this means that we are subsidizing the shipping fee and pouring some of our money into that to keep the price low. Please keep this in mind before sending us angry messages; we are very much aware of this issue.
A shipment of Hidden Isle goods crossing the ocean, as portrayed by Kanō Naizen
If you still want to send us angry messages or messages in general, we strongly advise using this email for that: [email protected]. The good folks of our support team are ready to help everyone with the sole exceptions of technical errors on the Backerkit site; those are better directed at [email protected]. Please be patient with us; we are but a small team already buried in work, but we are doing our best to help each and every one of you with our best capacities.
Now, last but not least, we’ll keep the pledge manager open until early 2024, so do take your time, but do not take forever! We’ll be sending out a few more updates with a final warning, a final_final warning, and then, of course, the final_final2 warning, followed by a few more directed attempts to gather up the remaining stragglers.
A gentle Knight of Wands gathering up the remaining stragglers, as portrayed by Eliot Baum & Viv Tanner
Okay, enough bureaucracy. Wanna play some Hidden Isle? We had a really great time messing about in Paris to save the local Huguenots from a bloodthirsty cardinal on FM4’s Spielerkammerl stream. For those of you in Vienna, we’ll be making an appearance at the Para-Dice board game bar at their “Everything but DnD” event next Saturday. The game’s designer himself, Jamie Patton, will DM and take a party on an adventure. For those of you not in Vienna, there is still the playtest version if you haven’t tried that one out yet. As said in previous updates, we are working on an early access version of the full rule book, so soon you can move way beyond the small starter's portion of the rules and enjoy a first version of the main course.
I remain, as usual, with the traditional invitation tojump on our socials for extended interaction and banter!
Stay safe and stay connected!
The Warden of Shadows
Dioscorian Dispatch: Let the Long Haul begin
12 months ago
– Thu, Nov 23, 2023 at 05:52:30 AM
Esteemed agents,
While the (central European) lands around us are slowly getting covered by fog and ice, we have emerged from the shadows of the post-campaign slumber, and are now pushing the production once more with all our might.
A glimpse from our studio
For those of you eagerly awaiting the Backerkit invites, we ask for a bit more patience. There are still some technicalities to resolve, and we hope to get the green light early next week. Right after that, we’ll send out a smoke test (contacting about 5-10% of the accounts), and a few days later, everyone should receive the official invite.
We will write about this phase in much more detail next week, but rest assured that we will keep the Backerkit open until at least early 2024. You can wrap up your orders whenever it is most suitable and convenient within that period.
Our artists at work
On our end, we are mainly looking at the production of art and laying out over the course of the next months. The rules themselves are fairly advanced, and we will hopefully have a digital, text-only version (print friendly!) for you early in 2024, so you can start playing at the earliest possible occasion. We thought such an early access digital option might be handy for those eager to play as soon as possible. There is still a great deal of assets to be drawn, but we are very confident regarding the proposed timeline. Every item is already sourced from a trusted producer. Rest assured that we learned from previous mistakes and are trying to conduct this with foresight and sober planning.
Unlike our newest illustration, the Scoundrel. No soberness and planning foresight here, but look at that swagger! It's an excellent rendition of this anti-hero character class by our artists!
Fear and Loathing in Dioscoria
Once you have finished admiring this charming and villainous creature, we have more playful endeavours for you to consider. While you are waiting for the full rules and your precious goods to arrive, we want to direct you to a little solo side quest that we worked on earlier in the year: Magdebörg. This is a gold extra production and the creation of our producer Zsombor Svab with some aid from James Patton, Georg Hobmeier, and Eliot Baum. It’s a solo/coop TTRPG that takes you into one of the grimmest chapters of the Thirty Years' War, the siege and destruction of the once so beautiful and mighty town of Magdeburg in 1631. Your mission in Magdebörg is to rescue as many townsfolk as possible while the imperial troops ravage the city, guiding them to the sanctuary of the cathedral, a location the murderous looters won't dare to enter.
If you want to get to know this particular part of history and become a hero to the citizens of Magdeburg, we highly recommend giving this a try.
Finally, some words about our partners over at Jellop. Once again, they have been a significant part of the campaign's success and we want to thank them for their support. Our project was featured on the First Backer Newsletter, and we'd like to invite you to join its growing community of Kickstarter backers - You'll receive fresh Kickstarter projects, and amazing early bird offers, as well as awesome freebies delivered right to your inbox. Click here to subscribe:
As said, we’ll be back with the Big Backerkit Update next week! Until then, our socials await you for extended interaction and banter!
Stay safe and stay connected!
The Warden of Shadows
P.S.: Almost forgot! Later today, from 5PM CET to 8PM CET, We’ll be live on the Austrian radio FM4’s boardgame stream, introducing the game and running a short session: https://www.twitch.tv/radio_fm4
Dioscorian Dispatch: Celebrations are in order
about 1 year ago
– Sat, Oct 28, 2023 at 07:56:53 AM
Esteemed Agents,
It is done. The campaign is over. Thank you for your ardent support and warm communication on all our channels!
Meanwhile, we are having a bit of a Mr. Frodo moment. It’s been a rather trying time, not just the 30 days of the campaign, but also the entire year working towards it, with life throwing a constant barrage of additional turmoil towards us. That said, we really, really appreciate how all of you have helped carry this project forward, with words of encouragement, useful playtests and feedback, sharing it with others and just being amazingly kind and civil. Not something one would expect on the internet in the year 2023!
Just like Mr. Frodo, we are taking a break now (no eagles to carry us to a bed, though). Without the option to escape to the Undying Lands, we’ll be back on November 6 to tend to communication and prepare the next steps of our adventure. Now, what's next...
Backerkit awaits! For those of you new to Kickstarter, this is a post-campaign phase to handle logistics and still welcome late backers. This is already fully prepared and we’ll send out the invitations around the middle of November. Then you can browse our wares again, upgrade your pledges and take care of the shipping. You’ll have plenty of time, since we have some things to produce such as…
More art! Lovely items from the game, like this rifle, are just the beginning. An entire mountain of art is still ahead for us to craft and for you to savor. There are a total of 50 illustrations in the thick rulebook, and we’ll be working tirelessly to piece everything together. Additionally, there is also...
Various production processes! Unlike last time when we spread ourselves a bit thin over at least 5 different types of industries with numerous unknowns, we have the items either already produced or already sourced and ready for production. The majority is being produced in Europe, so there is little chance for any surprises, but we will have…
Surprise content! While the content of the rulebook is mostly done, we are now looking at the various requests for extra content, scenarios and adventures. There is a rather unusual free digital publication coming in late November that will take us to desolate shores and we are also looking at a potential contribution for Zine Month. We have to factor this into the production process, The Hidden Isle has of course full priority, but we will definitely make use of the more idle hands in the team to expand on the Dioscoriaverse. Your hunger for adventure seems insatiable!
We're also exploring the best way to roll out the rules to you. Our plan is to provide an early version that's print-friendly, though it will lack the final artwork, at the start of the new year. Once everything is finalised, you'll receive the fully illustrated PDF. We chose this approach because we see no reason for the content to remain unused while we're working on the art and layout. We want you to engage with it as soon as possible!
We also want to give a shoutout to our friends over at Gentle Troll, who are currently running a campaign for their cosy visual novel Tavern Talk.
This game is all about running a tavern in a D&D-inspired fantasy! Gather rumours, serve drinks, and meet adventurers on a life-changing quest. Back their campaign, if you are looking to finally play the most beloved NPC of any TTRPG campaign: the Innkeeper. They also have a free demo!
Now, before we let you go, it is time to consult our oracle. This is after all powered by Tarot cards. Why did we embark on this journey? How did we fare? And what’s yet to come?
And there we have it: The Queen of Swords - Attempting Transcendence - made us abandon previous safety and embark on a quest into the unknown. The Magician - Shrewdness of the Trickster - helped us connect different worlds using both conscious and unconscious energies. The Two of Swords - The Aspiration Begins - The journey truly starts now!
Oh my. This was an actual draw, not a carefully chosen arrangement, and once again, the Tarot cards look through us, like we are glass, esteemed agents. Better get used to this. In our adventures to come, everything will be in the cards.
Until then, stay safe and stay connected.
The Warden of Shadows
Dioscorian Dispatch: The New Guilds
about 1 year ago
– Fri, Oct 20, 2023 at 09:56:49 AM
Esteemed Agents,
Another seal has been broken, another stretch goal unlocked! Two new schools have opened their gates to provide Dioscoria with capable agents:
The Guild of Song and Masks will now not only educate some of the island's most capable entertainers, but also trains these Performers to participate in dangerous missions on behalf of the island. Theirs is an array of skills ideal for social settings and their manipulation. They are masters of disguise and mimicry. Often confused with a more soft disposition, the brutal training in the academy makes sure that under the shining outer appearance these acrobats of the heart have an iron core, ready to fashion art from pain.
The Guild of Blood has a similar dual function for it is also the island’s medical academy. It is one of the most ancient institutions and its libraries hold transcripts from the days of Hippocrates. When working as agents the manipulation of the humours can leave the designated path of healing though. Siphoners can also drain life and create lethal binding oaths that are tied to the very essence of existence.
In more light news, look at these wonderful stickers, fresh from the workbench of the ever crafty Viv Tanner. Rejoice, everyone with a physical tier will get those! Take some take to gaze upon it in marvel, there is a lot of detail, look at those tiny, tiny cards!
Speaking of ever crafty, Eliot Baum has also been busy and has been working on The Illusionist illustration. These magicians bend perception and senses, operating on the mind rather than the world. Glamors, telepathy and of course illusions are part of their sometimes flashy, sometimes clandestine skillset.
It is time for a shout-out! Fellow TTRPG creator Martin Nerukar is currently running his campaign for “The Mending Circle” and we implore you to hop on over to check it out.
In this game, players come together as three witches to heal the wounded of heart, soul and body, guiding them on a journey towards safety, awareness, and renewed purpose. This cosy role-playing game encourages players to explore vulnerability in a heartfelt manner, ideally suited for close-knit groups experienced in storytelling and role-playing.
And that’s it, folks. As always, you can jump on our various social media channels for various forms of interaction and banter! Instagram is fun these days, we are doing weekly live streams of the solo mode.
To end on a dramatic note: We are entering the last phase of the dance. Support is surging again and we can only hope that we’ll see a veritable explosion, because that would allow us to reach almighty FREE MAP stretch goal. Spread the word and we shall prevail!
Stay safe and stay connected!
The Warden of Shadows
Dioscorian Dispatch: To More Glory
about 1 year ago
– Fri, Oct 06, 2023 at 07:30:12 AM
Esteemed agents,
Celebrate with us, for we've achieved another stretch goal! With the Deluxe tier and above, or as an add-on, the Hidden Isle Art print now includes an additional print, the glorious city of Dioscoria itself.
Let's now focus on our next milestone. When we hit 200K, two new classes will be unveiled: the Performer and the Siphoner. These classes offer distinct abilities; while the Performer thrives as a charismatic deceiver, the Siphoner possesses a dual magic, capable of healing or causing great harm.
Furthermore, as the whispers among agents grow louder and anticipation reaches its zenith, we're on the cusp of unveiling another class illustration. Hold onto your cloaks and daggers, for this revelation promises to be a visual feast. Any day now …
It also came to our attention that our allies at the various global printing presses and herald services are doing everything to spread the message far and wide, showering us with their blessings. Their recognition is a soothing potion in these stressful times. Look upon the Thaumavore’s benign verdict:
Talking about support, for those of you enamoured with the beauty of the Tarot, we want to quickly feature a true Tarot legend, whose latest creation just made it to Kickstarter:
Grace Duong’s intriguing Healing Herbology Deck features 56 cards with vibrant illustrations of each plant, an in-depth description in the guidebook, and a deluxe box with foil. These cards are enchanted with the wisdom of the herbs, giving you guidance for your life's journey aided by the plants 🌿
In closing, it's your unwavering support, echoing voices, and burning passion that drive us forward. Join hands and connect with us on our new BlueSky account, for the X is teetering on the edge of demise. Stand by our side as we continue to unravel the enigmas of the Hidden Isle.
