Dead Earth Games Kick Off Shattered Crown Fundraiser
June 30, 2015 by brennon
Dead Earth Games have started their Shattered Crown Fundraiser on Kickstarter. This game, based in reality but with a fantasy edge, pits two rival nations against each other for command of the land. Infantry, heroes and more are coming as this project gets funded...
The Background
Here is some more on the background of Shattered Crown. You can find out more over on the website where they go into more detail.
"It has been a year now since King Draven Hellesburne V, the Lord of Blades, died, and never was there a more eventful year throughout his reign. Brother plots against brother, Chancellors master puppets, assassinations and kidnapping are rife, and it is said even the wind whispers of more death to come.
Scuffles along borders, here and there, strain political tensions, trade routes are one day open and the next either closed or demanding of a new tax, to a new master.
The King declares his justice will be done. But which justice? Which King? Draven left three sons, Aiden, Aethor and Thorn, though only the first two did he ever call that name. Each claims the throne as their own, and each has an army to back their claim.
The Kingdom teeters on the edge of civil war. Lords must choose their allegiance – do they pledge their loyalty to the old King’s chosen heir, do they believe the claims of one of the other brothers, or do they see the opportunity to further their own ends – expand their own lands and titles?"
The Models
Of course you can't have a game without some models and Shattered Crown has some heroes and troops already sculpted up for you to check out.
Hellesburne and Khra are the factions that are the focus of this campaign and there are plans for a lot more as time goes on. You can still get your hands on the Early Bird special for this campaign (at the time of writing) as well as a whole bunch of other variations on the armies.
Have you taken a look at the campaign yet?
"Hellesburne and Khra are the factions that are the focus of this campaign..."
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Its worth it for the Bear and Stag Riders, if nothing else!
And its a company that will deliver as well. Their Across the Dead Earth KS is the only KS I’ve backed (of several!) that has delivered on time. Well worth a look!
Those are some nice models.
This is not one for me but will also endorse the company. Across the Dead Earth a great game and everthing delivered on time.
Having tried the beta rules the game is a hoot. If you liked Across the Dead Earth you’ll love The Shattered Crown just as much if not more. The models are awesome and there are some great concept pieces. War Riders rock and the Stag riders look ace.
Just had a look at their FB page and love this description of the game from one of their backers – made me chuckle!:
long gone are the days when you would wander into a game store and gasp in wonder at a set of rules that allowed you to fight historical and fantasy miniatures battles. (A game store is what we old folk use to call the Internet). They are now quite common and over the years have developed from the rules intensive nightmares that required a degree in accountancy to the buckets o’ dice systems that suggest the drooling players have at least a mild barbiturate problem. So in this mature market, it takes something to stand out and be worth looking at. The Shattered Crown is one such. Its pedigree is sound, coming from those fine folk who brought you Across the Dead Earth. The premise is straightforward: fantasy island with a quasi High Medieval society fighting a brutal and bloody civil war. Ok, nice enough but hardly exceptional, you might say? Then look again. Look at the artwork. Filip Dudek is one of the most talented gaming artists in the modern industry. I can only assume the rules authors have him locked in a cellar somewhere and exchange first rate artwork in return for meals or something. Whatever. Just make sure he doesn’t run out of paint down there. The artwork is gorgeous. Get the rules just for that. There is a figure range going from the nice basic infantry units to the utterly gorgeous….bear riders! They have a range of bear riders! OK, Ok, bear riders, yes, yes, pretty exciting, I suppose but still not unique. Game mechanics? Pretty simple in the attack, defend, will stats and a rather nice preferred enemy system that boosts certain units against others (so, for example, spearmen are good against cavalry). However, the key point that makes this a good investment is the Command System. This is the bit you’ll like. Each unit has a card allocation from a standard suit of playing cards. You can even put the card details on the unit banner so everyone knows that the elite Black Spears are the Two of Spades. At the start of the turn, each general plays his preferred unit’s card face down. Both then try to guess the opponent’s card. They then roll for initiative. If you guessed your opponent’s card, you add a bonus to the die roll. The winner then moves that unit. Repeat until one side runs out of cards. Restart the turn. Now only a drooling idiot fingering his comfort dice with sweaty paws can fail to see the tactical options this gives you in a game. You need to learn how to use combined attacks, feints and reserve units. You have to tactically beat your opponent, beat him with a stick until he whimpers like a beggar in the gutters of Helles. No longer can he claim he was robbed by the dice! He was beaten by your enormous Tactical Manhood and nothing else! You know you want this game now, don’t you? Yes. That’s right. Repeat the words. Enormous. Tactical. Manhood. Only from The Shattered Crown.