Vagrantsong is headed to Kickstarter!

[Hobby Wyrd]

Hey Wyrdos,

You read that right. We’ve hopped aboard the Silver Ferryman again, and this time, this haunted train is headed to Kickstarter.

We are bringing TWO brand new expansions to the platform: Encore and Off the Rails. Let’s dive into what is included in each of them.

What’s in Encore?

Vagrantsong: Encore is a huge expansion to our award-winning boss battling campaign game, Vagrantsong, that will take players to new heights, new lows, and everywhere In-Between.

Included in Encore:

• A fourth door to open that leads to the Bridge of Leaves, a new Chapter with 5 new Scenarios, including Haints inspired by Canadian ghost stories, West Virginian cryptids, and even beekeeping folklore.
• 6 Save Your Soul Scenarios to pull your friends back from the brink of becoming Haints themselves. Each Scenario will have players diving into a dark moment in a Vagrant’s past, and it will be up to you to remind them that we emerge stronger through the challenges we overcome.
• Short Trip Mode gives players the opportunity to explore the Silver Ferryman in Chapter-sized chunks – each with their own new beginning and end!
• New In-Between cards, Skills, and Junk.
• Baggage cards, which will inflict negative effects on you and your friends while replacing your Passive – make sure to get rid of these as soon as you might get them!
• Turn Tracker Tokens so you don’t get lost along the way.
• Smoky Bones, special dice that players earn and find to help turn their bad luck around.
• And enough twists and turns to make your head spin.

We packed Vagrantsong: Encore with so much stuff that it’s impossible to include everything in a bullet-point list. We haven’t mentioned Generic Coins, Soul Skill cards, the new Malady, or the two new types of Terrain!

What’s in Off the Rails?

Vagrantsong: Off the Rails offers players the opportunity to revisit Scenarios from the core game and its expansion Encore, with new and exciting challenges along the way.

Included in Off the Rails:

• A new game mode that increases the difficulty and replayability of every Scenario, including new Actions to avoid and Events to explore!
• The Poison Berry Rummage Token, which can remove Haint Effects from yourself or nearby friends (for a small cost, that is!).
• New Objectives tailored for each Vagrant called Devious Deeds that provide more character customization as Rewards. Some will give you more Humanity while others might replace your Passive altogether!
• More Smoky Bones!
• And a few spooky surprises along the way.

Both expansions will require the core game of Vagrantsong in order to play.

 

Why Kickstarter?

There are two major reasons why we decided to bring Vagrantsong: Encore and Off the Rails to Kickstarter.

The first admission: when we originally rolled out our spooky boss battler, we thought we had produced a comfortable amount. But it soon became apparent that we significantly underestimated the game’s appeal and demand. We didn’t anticipate such an overwhelming response from you all! This led to the unintended challenge of tracking down copies at local stores, which turned into a game of its own. We’d much rather have you enjoying playing the game itself, rather than having to embark on a quest to find it.

By launching the expansions on Kickstarter, we can more accurately anticipate how many players want more out of their Vagrantsong experience.

Our second motivation? We’re excited about creating entertaining and whimsical elements within the world of Vagrantsong, and Kickstarter provides us with the platform to do so. For a tabletop company like ours, producing smaller-scale, non-essential stuff like plushies, fancy dice, and other deluxe items can be risky and expensive. Nevertheless, we think our community will be just as excited as we are about some of the extra components we’re cooking up. As for the specifics of these doodads, you’ll have to patiently wait until we unveil them with the launch of the Vagrantsong: Encore Kickstarter in September.

We fully acknowledge those who may be hesitant about backing projects on crowdfunding platforms. When we release games and supplements, our primary aim is to ensure they’re easily accessible at your local game stores, and this is no exception. Following the fulfillment of our Kickstarter pledges, we will swiftly release these two expansions into retail.

Retailers, we haven’t overlooked you! Your role is vital in our haunted journey. Stay tuned for pledge options specifically designed for retailers.

Something we’re doing a little different with our Kickstarter: once the crowdfunding campaign concludes, we’ll be all set to send the content for production. We’ve been focused on playtesting both expansions for a while now, and are currently in the final stages of refinement and fine-tuning. Once we’re set to hit the ‘print’ button, you won’t have to endure an extended waiting period before you can embark on your journey with the Silver Ferryman once again.

Why Two Expansions?

You might remember our initial announcement back in January. Lots of things can change within a few months of development, and Encore was no exception.

What we found was that some players might want some of the new content, but not all. Some players might be more interested in making the core game experience more challenging (with Off the Rails), while others want more Scenarios and related content (with Encore).

We decided to split Encore into two expansions to accommodate both groups. But you’ll be able to get both of these expansions and a ton more when the Vagrantsong: Encore Kickstarter launches!

Find Out More at Gen Con!

We’ll have walk-up demos and full learn-to-plays of Vagrantsong and Vagrantsong: Encore.

Find us at Booth #1129 to play a few rounds against Slag Pile Annie, a brand new Encore Scenario, as she tries to keep her steel mill’s furnace from getting too hungry.

When Does the Kickstarter Start?

We are aiming to launch in mid-September. Keep an eye out for our news and social media posts for when you can sign up to be notified when the Kickstarter launches. In the meantime, sign up for our Vagrantsong Newsletter to be the first to know!