Meet the Core Part One
over 9 years ago – Sun, Nov 06, 2016 at 05:16:39 AM

Today we’d like to give you a peak at what several of the investigators in the core game can look like after they’ve received a fresh coat of paint. And furthermore, because we haven’t talked much about the investigators in the core game, we also thought we’d give you a chance to get to know them a little bit better by sharing their backstories with you. So without further ado, here they are: the core game investigators!

RANDI CARTER – THE RESEARCHER

Randi grew up with a curious mind and an active imagination. As a girl she studied everything she could get her hands on, and she dreamed of growing up to become a famed explorer like those in the movies she watched and books she read. She thrived on unsolved mysteries, archeology and a study of supernatural phenomena.

Unfortunately, Randi was also frail and sickly. Because of this, she spent much of her time in libraries and books rather than outside, exploring through other’s words rather than through her own experiences. She dove deeper and deeper into the work of mysterious and esoteric scholars, becoming deeply stirred by their ideas and views of the world. When she was at university she met an old professor named Dr. Peaslee who shared many of her same interests. He took Randi under his wing, and together they delved into strange texts and published a number of articles that all went unnoticed. Well, almost unnoticed.

It was growing late one night when Randi received a call from Dr. Peaslee. He told her that he had been visited by a group of men from the Leng Corporation who had taken a deep interest in their work. They had asked him on an expedition to study some things that might be of great interest to a man like himself, but he had politely declined due to his age and health. However, he had recommended that they instead consider taking Randi. They thanked him for his referral, and promised they would contact Randi. When Randi heard this she almost screamed, jumping out of her chair. When the men came to visit, she quickly and eagerly agreed. Finally, she would be going on a real adventure. Finally she was going to see the world, just like all of the heroes in her stories. Unfortunately, she had no idea her story would not be an adventure tale: it would instead be a trial of unending horror.

ARTHUR WEYLAND – THE ENGINEER

Arthur showed a great aptitude for building things and discovering how something worked even as a boy. He was born into a wealthy family, and so had nearly limitless resources at his disposal to pursue his keen interests. These passions fueled him all the way through his graduation from one of the top colleges in the nation, and upon graduating he announced that he would pursue his loves in the field of engineering rather than taking over his family’s prominent, powerful business. His parents were far from surprised, but objected nonetheless. However, their protests quickly faded as their son’s remarkable talent began to earn him a fame, prestige and wealth all his own.

Arthur is driven. And he likes to win. In fact, he is willing to go to almost any lengths to achieve his goals – even if others are hurt in the process. It was this willingness to fight dirty, in fact, that finally ruined him.

When news of his immoral business practices leaked to the press, it began a firestorm that ended with him having to leave his firm, fight multiple lawsuits, and retract completely from the public eye. That’s when the Leng Corporation found him, and offered him a position as a lead engineer in their company. Arthur jumped at the chance. For one of his first projects, the executives asked him to travel to an installation which might have been compromised. It was a critical facility for their operations, and they needed one of their brightest to look it over and make sure it was still fully functional – and to figure out a way to save it if it wasn’t. Arthur accepted the challenge, and shortly found himself departing for the Kadath deep sea mining facility.

To Be Continued...

Deep Madness in Beasts of War Weekender Show
over 9 years ago – Sat, Nov 05, 2016 at 07:34:25 AM

Many thanks to Beasts of War! They have introduced Deep Madness in their Weekender show. Check here and enjoy the show:

Some screenshots in the video:

Italian Translation And Gameplay Videos
over 9 years ago – Sat, Nov 05, 2016 at 12:20:33 AM

Italian Translation Packs

With your enthusiastic votes, Italian translation is coming to Deep Madness! Now Spanish, French, German, and Italian translation packs are all available in optional buys, please share the good news with your friends.

The core box and expansions will still contain English components, the translation packs include all the components with text translated and printed. We will hire professional translators to ensure the quality of the translations. 

If you don't want to purchase the translation packs, we are also providing free printable PDF files for these components. You will find them in later updates. Please stay tune.

Review and Gameplay Videos

We have some new videos for you. 

Preview Gameplay From Roger

The first one is a gameplay video made by our game designer Roger, showing what the gameplay feels like. 

Part 1

Part 2

The BGM in these videos are from "Cthulhu 2: Return of the Old Ones" by Darkraven Games, perfect for Deep Madness. You can get it now at darkravengames.com in their audio products section which has over 50 hours of sound for your role playing and table top games. You can also check out their current Kickstarter running right now called: "Descent Into Hell 2".

Preview From Board Game Brawl

Second video is a preview from the Board Game Brawl, let’s hear what Nick Meenachan thinks about Deep Madness: PREVIEW: Deep Madness 

Videos From Learn To Play Games

Finally, we have several videos from the Learn to Play Games YouTube channel, Lance Hinkel explains the basic rules of Deep Madness and shows his gameplay. Learn to Play Deep Madness overview

 Learn to Play presents: Basic Play: Deep Madness

Thanks For Watching!!

THE BIG BUNDLE and The Little Girl
over 9 years ago – Fri, Nov 04, 2016 at 08:42:51 AM

HANNAH COBB – THE LITTLE GIRL

Investigators were shocked when they found her: a little girl huddled all alone in the dark bowels of Kadath. She clutched her stuffed brown bear to her as if it would ward off the evils surrounding her, grime streaking her skin and matting her hair. The investigators asked her name, and she said it was Hannah Cobb. Then they asked where she came from. She replied that she didn’t know. All she could remember was the horror, the screams, and the facility.

Amanda Weaver took Hannah under her wing. She cleaned her up, she got her food, and she started to forge a bond with the girl. She asked how Hannah had survived so long on her own. Hannah replied that whenever she got scared she’d close her eyes and hide, and the monsters eventually went away. Amanda inquired where her parents were. Hannah told her she didn’t know her mom, and she only vaguely remembered her father. She did know, though, that she had a different last name than him. She remembered him saying that was partly for protection, and partly for fun. He always called her a character.

The greatest shock came, however, when the investigators’ makeshift camp was overrun with horrors. It was then that Hannah closed her eyes and vanished completely, right in front of them all. When the battle was over, Hannah reappeared. But her new friends were wary now. What if they actually knew precisely who the girl’s father was? What if she was a creation from that greatest of minds, Dr. William West? And, if she was, how could they ever truly trust her again?

When we reach $900,000, Hannah will be joining every box of The Oracle’s Betrayal. Hannah is an investigator with some very special skills, like the ability to choose who sees her and who doesn’t. She can also completely upset the board by willing a devoured tile to revert to its original state (though not without some negative side-effects.) Perhaps someday we will even learn the answers to the burning questions about Hannah: is she a real little girl with incredible gifts? Or is she only a clever construct from William’s imagination? And, if she’s the latter, can she truly possess free will, or just its illusion?

THE PENITENT FORSAKEN, AND THE BIG BUNDLE

Do you want to help us reach some of the incredible stretch goals coming up shortly, like Hannah, Obscure, the new scenarios and those beyond 1M? Are you also a sucker for deals? Or maybe you just love big, nasty monsters. (Or maybe all three? ;)

Today we are pleased to announce a new add-on: our Expansions Bundle! Now, when you buy the Expansions Bundle you will receive The Oracle’s Betrayal, Rise of Dagon and a very, very special gift: a brand new Epic Monster! Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say Monsters. That’s right, the Expansions Bundle comes with not one, but two monsters: Penitent and Forsaken. Or are they really one? I suppose only time will tell.

Through the screeching and gnashing of violent terrors you hear the soft sobs of a woman weeping. The sound is so out of place that it jars you for a moment, and you find yourself snapping your gaze back and forth as you scramble away from the oncoming onslaught of twisted horrors. Then you see her. And you gasp.

The woman sweeps toward you through an archway, her massive bulk of tentacles pulling her onward. There are a myriad of wailing faces pockmarking the writhing mass that composes her being from the waist down. From her waist up, however, she almost looks like a human. The monsters pause to look back at her, and as they do her tentacles unfurl and wrap around the terrors. In stunned silence you watch as the weeping woman devours every single one of the monsters attacking you, absorbing them into her squirming substance as her mouths chew.

“Th-thank you,” you stammer. “They nearly had me. You saved my life.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispers in reply, covering her twisted face. “You have me mistaken. I can’t hold her back any longer. She’s coming again.”

You frown. “Who’s coming again?”

The woman screams from her hundreds of mouths, and her bottom half begins thrashing ferociously. Then her lower body peels open like an orange, and a new creature erupts from inside her. This new creature is brutally savage and utterly monstrous. It bellows as its conglomeration of massive barbed tentacles unfurl. Turning, you flee. Behind you there is the sound of wet flesh slapping steel as the tentacles surge toward you. Somehow, though, you make it through the hatch and slam it shut.

The monster doesn’t directly take up pursuit. Frowning, you turn and look through the hatch’s porthole. You can still hear the woman through an open intercom to your left.

“You don’t have to do this,” she says. “You can break the cycle. We can be free.”

That is as far as she gets. Her new form lunges on her and mercilessly rips her to pieces. Then it devours every last inch and ounce of her. Clamping a hand over your mouth, you flip around and run as fast as you can. There is no way you will survive that thing. Your only chance is to escape.

You don’t know how long it hunts you. Hours? Longer? But always you hear it right behind you, screeching and bellowing. Finally, though, you enter a room with no exit. A knot forming in your belly, you turn around to face your pursuer. There is nowhere else to go.

Slowly it pulls itself into the room, a thrashing mass of terror. It has you at last, and it knows it. Closing your eyes, you await the inevitable. The slippery, barbed end of a tentacle brushes your face. And then the beast chokes and gurgles.

Opening your eyes, you watch in astonishment as the beast folds back into itself. Its tentacles contract and the upper torso of a woman slowly pulls itself up from its depths. The beast moans as hundreds of mouths push through the skin of its appendages. Opening their taught lips, the mouths begin to weep.

“The cycle begins again,” the woman says, covering her face. “Run.”

Penitent was a woman who, in her battle against the Sphere, absorbed too much of the dark soul poisoning the world around her and found herself twisting and warping into the very horror she fought against. As if pronouncing a final cruel judgment against her, the Sphere then trapped her in a perpetual cycle of death and birth. When you first encounter her, Penitent will attack your enemies, absorbing them and their distorted souls into herself. At this point she may seem even like an ally of sorts. But then, when she can no longer contain all of the terror she has consumed, it literally explodes out of her in the form of Forsaken. For a time Penitent and Forsaken will inhabit the board together, but eventually Forsaken will turn on its older form, savagely murdering herself.

At this point Forsaken becomes incredibly powerful. Almost unstoppable, in fact. But, if you can survive, over time Forsaken slowly weakens until at last she metamorphoses back into Penitent. Even if you are somehow able to kill Forsaken, it really doesn’t matter. She will just become Penitent once more, and the cycle will start over. Each phase of the Penitent Forsaken cycle is unique, with its own challenges and terrors. But the cycle is always doomed to repeat itself. So, if you live long enough, you might begin to have the strangest sense of déjà vu – almost as if you have been here before, and time has been set on endless repeat.

Separately, Penitent Forsaken will retail for $25. But you can get them for free by including the Expansion Bundle in your pledge today! The Bundle is available for $100 and includes both Rise of Dagon and The Oracle’s Betrayal! (If you don’t wish to receive Penitent Forsaken in the bundle, pay only $90 and you’ll receive the whole bundle minus the two figures.)

Note: The Translation Packs for Rise of Dagon and The Oracle's Betrayal are not included in this bundle. However, multi-language cards are included in the Penitent & Forsaken Epic Monster box.

So what are you waiting for? Click on “Manage Your Pledge” on the Kickstarter page, click “Change your pledge”, and then add the total for the bundle to your pledge before hitting “Continue”. We’ll figure out what your additional money was for when the pledge manager goes out after the campaign.  

Thanks for being a part of all the madness!

Glimpse the Obscure and Despair
over 9 years ago – Wed, Nov 02, 2016 at 07:46:28 AM

DESPAIR

The ground is coated in a thick layer of viscera and dead sea life. It snaps and burbles as you gingerly bring your feet down on the slippery, spongey surface, your feet almost sliding right out from under you as you tread over the slick fish scales and half-dead filth.

“This is disgusting,” Randi says beside you.

“Yes, it is,” you reply. “Watch your step.”

Randi sighs, her shoulders drooping as she advances through the room. “What are we doing here?” she asks. “What’s the point? This place is going to kill us, and for what? Our deaths aren’t even going to mean anything. No one will even know we’re gone.”

“I -” you find your reply choking in your throat. She’s right. There is no point. This place has already killed so many of your friends and allies. What chance do you possibly have?

The arm reaches up out of the vile muck and delicately strokes Randi’s leg with its webbed fingers. Then another one does. Randi sinks to her knees. “I wish I could close my eyes and make it all go away,” she says. “I wish I could just end it.”

“I know how you feel,” you say, the reality of everything crashing home at once. “I’m so tired.”

The arms are stroking your legs now, too. Their touch is tender. Consoling. And each time the fingers make contact with your skin it’s like the ache and grief and despair double.

“I’m done,” Randi says, lying down. “I can’t take it anymore. I’m going to sleep.”

A sob escapes your throat as you fall to your knees. Slowly you, too, curl up in the refuse and slime. The arms continue to sprout up around you both, and it isn’t long before you find yourself locked in their clammy embrace. But what does it matter now, in any case?

Despair is born from the hopelessness and ache welling up in the investigators’ minds. Sprouting from the filth all around you, it’s as if your inner turmoil has taken on flesh to pull you down and smother you.

Despair can’t move, but then why would it need to? Just like depression and nihilism can spread, so too can Despair. It will multiply across spaces and tiles, creating a minefield of misery. When an investigator enters the same tile as Despair she will find she no longer feels the drive to go on. She will remain there, unable to move, as Despair continues to reproduce. And when too many Despair appear around her, it really will be too late.

Sure, you could fight against Despair. But what’s the point?

OBSCURE

The corridor crackles around you. Frowning, you blink your eyes. Something is wrong. What. . . What’s happening? Everything is so shiny.

The walls start sliding around you. You begin to walk forward, and as you do the floor tries to escape from under your feet. You’ve got to get out of here. You need to escape. You try to run, and the world rotates around you as you do. 

Closing your eyes, you charge forward. You hit the edge of the hatch hard and careen into the next chamber. Landing on your knees, you look up. Walls fracture and rotate around you, as if they’re trying to hide something. It’s like there’s some object there, but your mind just can’t quite wrap itself around the thing. Squinting, you try to focus. It’s very likely your life depends on it.

The floor flips and you’re hanging from the ceiling. You cry out in surprise, clinging to the surface beneath you so you don’t drop to your death. Looking down, you see a giant pair of wings that seem to be made from sheet metal. There’s a body attached to the wings, too, like – like an antenna array. And several legs like conduit.

The metal thing launches toward you, and the room flips right-side up again. Trying to once more regain your equilibrium, you look back up at the metal thing. You frown. Wait. It’s – it’s not metal at all.

As the horror’s chelicerae and claws and tentacles sink into you, your mind finally embraces the truth. And that truth is worse than the madness that came before.

We are very pleased today to introduce you to your next Epic Monster: Obscure!

Obscure attacks your mind long before it attacks your flesh. In fact, the farther away an investigator is from Obscure, the more damage it can do to his psyche. It erases its presence from investigators’ minds, placing itself almost on a different “frequency” from its prey. As Obscure draws closer it becomes easier to detect and its presence becomes more tangible. But if you don’t spot it in time, watch out: you might just find yourself being devoured by a creature that your mind is telling you should not even exist.

In regards to Obscure, we have great news and we have “patient” news. First the great news: when Obscure is unlocked, this incredible Epic Monster will be added to every person’s rewards who has backed at any of the Investigator levels! And now, the patience part: Obscure won’t be unlocked until we hit $1,000,000.

Now, this doesn’t mean we won’t have any stretch goals until we reach $1M. We just wanted to give you a taste of what’s coming up, and to let you feast your eyes on this fantastic terror. (Assuming you don’t let it get too close, of course.) And we wanted to give you a little push to get the word out about Deep Madness, so that we can unlock this stretch goal as soon as possible!

Which brings us back to the patience mentioned above. You know what? Forget patience! Spread the word! Bug your friends! Shower your social media accounts! (Maybe even up your pledge if you’ve been intending to add on some extras like Devourer of Worlds or Rise of Dagon.) Let’s get Obscure unlocked as soon as we can!

I know we’ve said this before, but thanks for being such incredible backers. You’re the only reason we’re able to make Deep Madness’s insanity a reality. And thanks for telling everyone you know about this game so we can unlock Obscure ASAP!