Waldo's Weekly - All Aboard (Again)

[Hobby Wyrd]

Hey Wyrdos,

This week, Waldo toddled on down to the train station. When he came back, he had on a fancy cap, a conductor’s whistle, and was twirling a big pocket watch. Every time we ask Waldo where he got them, he just shrieks on his whistle until we leave him alone. Strangest thing, though: even after our ears stop ringing, we can still hear a train somewhere in the distance…

So, while we get our hearing checked, let’s take a look at what is coming later this year: an expansion to our bone-chillingly spooky boss battler, Vagrantsong.

Vagrantsong: Encore is the story of the Bridge of Leaves, a ghostly retelling of North American folklore. Break out your Bindles and prepare to test your luck against foes both tricky and terrifying.

New Chapter

You’ve gone into the tunnel and met what lurks in the dark. You’ve endured the cold and found what’s hogging all the heat. And you’ve slipped past the graveyard, only to wake the dead.

Now, in Vagrantsong: Encore, prepare to cross the Bridge of Leaves. The Silver Ferryman will venture deep into the woods, where the buzzing and howling echoes of unrest await. Can you escape with your lives, or will calamity collapse everything at your feet?

Just like previous chapters, Bridge of Leaves will include 5 unique Scenarios to overcome. Players will be able to add the Bridge of Leaves chapter into their campaign (either during a campaign or at the start), or they can play the chapter by itself (more on that in a bit).

New Haints

Many of our spooky specters in Vagrantsong are based off North American ghost-folk stories and horror films, with their mechanics and lore providing some details as to what may have happened to these poor lost souls. In Vagrantsong: Encore, we are continuing that tradition with some truly terrifying ghouls and ghosts.

One such Haint is inspired by a Canadian ghost story. If you live close enough to a certain river in New Brunswick, you might even hear his call. In the dark and the deep is where the Dungarvon Whooper sleeps…

We’ll just have to see what type of meal this haunted chef will prepare for our Vagrants when we meet him on the Silver Ferryman.

New Scenarios

You already know about the new Chapter that will include 5 new Scenarios, but we’ve got a few surprises in store just yet. We’re packing Vagrantsong: Encore to the brim with brand new Scenarios, and a bunch of new ways in which they trigger for players who hop aboard once more.

Some new Scenarios come from places where you’d least expect. Travel Westbound too often and you run the risk of becoming a Haint yourself! But don’t worry, your friends won’t let you step more than one foot in the grave.

With Save Your Soul Scenarios, players will try to save their Westbound Vagrants before they are lost on the Silver Ferryman… forever. Like other Scenarios, these are fully cooperative (which means if you were playing the Songsmith and went Westbound one too many times, you’ll have to temporarily switch to another character in order to bring your banjo-playing buddy back to life), but the effort is well-worth it!

In Save Your Soul Scenarios, you’ll uncover pieces of each Vagrant’s past, as well as new Skills that won’t be found anywhere else in the game! And before you ask, yes, all 6 Westbound acrylic standees will be included in the expansion.

New Ways to Play

Not only will Vagrantsong: Encore have more Scenarios, but it will also provide a bunch of new ways to play the game, which will bring new life into existing bosses.

Was your first run of the campaign too easy? Off the Rails Mode aims to change that. But going Off the Rails will mean more than just increasing the difficulty. You’ll have a new way of building out your character, new Haint Actions (including a new Rummage Token!), and new Events to explore with every new and existing Scenario in the game.

Already played through the story and want to try out a shorter campaign? Short Trip Mode allows you to do just that. In Short Trip Mode, you’ll be revisiting the Silver Ferryman when a certain demonic cat calls for your help. And it’s a lot more than just playing a single chapter. With the Skelly Man saved, a new menace takes its place…

And the best part? All of this content is modular. Want to give the Save Your Soul Scenarios a test run without committing to an Off the Rails adventure? You can do that. Want to run a Short Trip campaign with Save Your Soul Scenarios included? You can do that, too. Maybe you want to experience the full Off the Rails campaign, but don’t want to include the Save Your Soul Scenarios. That works, too. Or maybe you want all 3 to be a part of your game. Nobody is going to stop you (but the Man of Many Limbs might try).

And Much More

There’s only so much we can pack into this announcement, but there’s still plenty of content to cover.

We haven’t talked about Smoky Bones, which are going to be new dice added to the game that players will earn through play, and will help manage some of those bad rolls.

We also haven’t mentioned Odd Jobs yet, which are Vagrant-specific objectives that players can complete in certain game modes that allow for a significantly deeper player customization experience.

Or Ailment Cards, which are like Haint Effects, but will be placed on top of Skills on your Vagrant Card and will hinder your character in various ways. You won’t be able to use the Skill beneath an Ailment Card until the Ailment’s removed!

Plus, there are plenty of brand-new Skills and Junk Cards that players can earn. Some are really powerful, some will change how you think about your chosen character(s), and some are just downright strange (a jar of pickles? What am I going to do with a jar of pickles?).

There’s even more we haven’t covered yet, but we will soon. Want to be one of the first to find out what’s coming to our spooky boss battler? Well…

Join Our Playtest

Sign up here. We’ll be playtesting Vagrantsong: Encore on Tabletop Simulator very soon. You’ll need experience playing the core game, Tabletop Simulator downloaded and ready to go, and a genuine interest in helping us make this expansion even better than the core game.

When is the expansion coming out, you ask? You can hop back aboard later this year (2023). We’ll have a more accurate release window in the near future.

Shirts!

Oh, would you look at that? There’s more to this news post.

You asked, so we delivered.

We made Vagrantsong t-shirts! They are available right now in just about every size on the chart. Head over to our webstore today to get yourself a Vagrantsong t-shirt and represent your favorite Vagrant before these shirts go Westbound (er, go out of stock).

And while you’re there, make sure to pick up the DC plush and the Fox Sisters Scenario!

That’s all this week! Stay tuned for future Waldo’s Weeklies, as there’s still so much spooky stuff to cover.

[LuciferHex]

God Wyrd stop giving me reasons to buy your boardgames, my wallet can't take it!