Competitive adventure board game for fans of Dungeon Crawlers, Metal Music and High Fantasy.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
August Update!
8 days ago
– Sat, Aug 31, 2024 at 07:02:10 AM
Slayers!!
Hope you are doing well and enjoying your summer, here is the August update!
In last month’s update I stated that the financial transaction of the Pledge Manager would be taking place. As I was trying to get the last few surveys completed, I decided to wait until the August update to do this and not randomly during the month.
Therefore, during the next few days, your cards will now be charged for shipping fees and taxes applicable to your region.
There are still a couple of backers outstanding who I have been trying to contact, please let me know if you are unsure whether you have completed your survey!
Pre-orders can remain open for anyone else who wants to pick up a copy, therefore, if you know someone who likes board games and metal music, send them to Book of Skulls!
Manufacturing is expected to conclude next week with collection shortly after. We hit a couple of snags on the box as the dimensions changed up and down as the manufacturer finalised the best way to save space on your shelf and maintain the integrity of the components in transport and storage.
Here are some videos and images of Book of Skulls in manufacture!
For those who ordered a Book of Skulls T-Shirt, they were delivered yesterday! I will keep them safe until the games arrive at GamesQuest.
My goal for August was to have selected and arranged the 21 songs that are on the metal part of the soundtrack. I blew way past this target and have completed the drums, bass and recorded the bulk of the guitars already. The guitars are the most time consuming part of the process (and there may have been one or two moments when I rued how fast I made some of the songs…) therefore, having so much recorded already is a great achievement.
Here is the checklist progression for the metal soundtrack. The new titles, with the exception of those named after levels, are named after some of the Slayer combat moves.
***For those who backed the Bards of Fire tier, I have emailed you with regards to recording your guitar solo on the soundtrack. Please check your spam inbox!***
My goal for September is to have recorded the whole soundtrack, including orchestration, effects etc and be into the production stage.
As above, it is really about the soundtrack at the moment, however, the App is also making great progress.
I also plan to put some time aside later in the month to work on the website as well so stay tuned for some updates there! www.bookofskulls.co.uk
This month, we are looking at the mysterious Slayer named Adder.
Adder has a strong connection to her Valrriath roots, dedicating her life to maintaining the practices and rituals of her ancestors. Despite specialising in the use of circular blades, she has also developed a keen knowledge of the elements.
Although she has spent much of her life travelling along the coasts, Adder has never left the shores of Eragoth. She often contemplates that one day she might see what lies beyond the Eversea.
During her travels through Eragoth, she came across a fracture in reality, a portal that led to another dimension. Always of a curious nature, Adder ventured beyond to discover the realm of Shadowfall.
Created by the Carrion Witch, Shadowfall exists purely by her magic, the realm can become chaotic with entrances and exits appearing and disappearing in a matter of moments.
Whilst in Shadowfall, Adder blended in with the Reaper’s Coven, it was here that she learned the power of curse breaking.
In Combat, although adept with melee weapons, Adder has an impressive command of magic as she can augment her Art, Thrash, with the power of the elements. Adder provides good coverage as, in addition to her elemental buff, she can also break curses which could save her fellow Slayers from a slow demise.
That's it for now, see you for the next update!
Best Wishes
Andy
July update
about 1 month ago
– Tue, Jul 30, 2024 at 02:23:16 PM
Slayers!!
Hope you are doing well and enjoying your summer, here is the July update!
The Pledge Manager will be closing shortly, this is the point where the financial transaction for shipping fees and VAT should happen for most Kickstarter backers and the full transaction for those who have preordered through Backerkit.
If you need to change an address on your order later on, no problem! just let me know.
I will be directly contacting anyone who has not yet completed their Pledge Manager survey.
Pre orders will remain open for anyone else who wants to pick up a copy, therefore, if you know someone who likes board games and metal music, send them to Book of Skulls!
As per last month’s update, all files were submitted to the manufacturer. I have also paid the first invoice and am now pending the expected timelines.
My goal for this month was to complete all the additional optional lore which will be stored in the App.
This includes the Slayer bios, expanding information on the religions and the five Ages of Eragoth and 36 short stories/accounts/historical pieces from the historians of Eragoth (Scrollkeepers) called the Chapters of Eragoth.
In addition, the 36 chapters have audio clips for if you wish to listen rather than read.
With that done, I am officially finished writing material for Eragoth. It has been a truly mammoth undertaking but one I have loved and I am excited to get to the next stage which is making the soundtrack.
To recap, I am recording 21 (23 including the two Slayer Strike singles) songs. Of these, 10 are unique as boss music for each of the 10 levels, 10 are generic battle themes for when not facing a boss and 1 is for the final boss.
Over the weekend and yesterday, I went through all the demos and made great headway in trimming it down to the final pool of songs, as it stands I still have too many tracks...
In a previous life, I released a lot of albums and will draw from the well of yesteryear for a couple of ideas I really want to incorporate, however, the vast majority of the soundtrack has been specifically written for Book of Skulls.
But that is not all, in addition to the metal soundtrack, there are also 10 overworld themes, one for each level. I am still planning for these to be ambient pieces.
Next month's update will talk more about the style and final tracklisting as I hope to have the soundtrack well underway by the end of August.
Once the music is complete, I will be making a suite of videos which will essentially be a video format of the rulebook.
So plenty to be getting on with throughout the rest of the summer!
This month, I wanted to introduce another pair of characters whose stories are interwoven, here we have Rosina & Forrest who are our Archers.
Archers are accompanied by a Fen, a small cat-like creature.
On the battlefield, a Fen is an Archer's best friend as they collect and return stray arrows to their master.
Rosina is the leader of the Eagle Bows, a faction of the Othendrel forces famous for their legendary command of bow and arrow. Rosina assumed leadership some 30 years ago following the death of her predecessor who perished at the axe of Gorgonoth, the now-bane of Havenwatch Forest.
The Othendrel people are descended from the Valrriath, a race of ancient conjurers hailing from the now abandoned city of Haevel.
Since the time of the Valrriath, a bioluminescent tree stood at the heart of the city, blooming in striking pink every evening. A chosen warrior dubbed the “Tree Caller” protects the tree, not leaving its side. After a year has passed, the responsibility is bestowed to another.
This prestigious position was once granted to Rosina, it was during her watch that the once bright pink plumage turned to crimson red as the bloom melted from the branches.
The Othendrel people still bestow some of the magic of the Valrriath. Although they appear as a human, they age at a much slower rate having a life expectancy that is more than double.
In combat, whereas Forrest’s archery damage is focused against a single foe, Rosina can attack all foes at once and, depending on the bow allocated, can deal a high amount of damage.
As a victim of bandits, Forrest lost his entire family when he was only 13 years old.
From that age he had to fend for himself, moving across Eragoth as a nomad taking refuge and food from those who were kind enough to share or who exchanged it for work.
Forrest would not settle until he found Rosina, leader of the Eagle Bows, a faction of the Othendrel forces who are specialised in Archery.
Despite his large stature, Forrest is not adept in close combat, however, he is a natural using a bow. Rosina has nurtured this talent making him a deadly marksman.
Taken in as an honorary Othendrel, he vows to protect this new family by joining the fight against the Skeleton Witch.
In combat, whereas Rosina’s archery damage is focused against all foes, Forrest provides damage that is focused on a single foe and, depending on the bow allocated, will instantly defeat Demons of a certain level.
That's it for now, see you for the next update!
Best Wishes
Andy
June Update
2 months ago
– Sun, Jun 30, 2024 at 12:22:06 PM
Slayers!
Hope everyone is doing well and having a great start to your summer!
Now to June’s update.
The Pledge Manager is planned to close during July!
For those who have not been able to complete it yet, we will be unable to ship your game without a completed survey as this is how your shipping address is recorded (and updated if needed).
Please let me know if you need your link again.
Late Pledges/Preorders
If you missed the campaign or know someone who did, Book of Skulls is available for preorder from the link below!!
I am thrilled to announce that the final files have been submitted to the manufacturer!! I am now pending their confirmation of dates.
It feels fantastic to have submitted the final files but also quite strange as the game I have worked so hard on over the last 5 years is finally “done”.
Well, I say done, there is still plenty to do, however, submitting to the manufacturer is a major milestone.
Work has restarted on the App as, now that the printed text, cards, etc are completed, we can migrate this data into the App.
Whilst the App is being worked on, I am finalising any lore which is exclusively in the App, this is the “bonus”/non-gameplay material such as Slayer backstories and a huge amount of additional information about Eragoth and the world it takes place in.
Work will also begin on the soundtrack during the summer.
As all files have been submitted to the manufacture this of course means all of the Slayer artwork is complete. This month, I am introducing two Slayers, Tamriel & Kane who are intrinsically linked to each other.
It is believed that Tamriel is not of Eragoth. He was found washed ashore as an infant in the wreckage of a ship that had met its doom on the Eversea.
From an early age, Tamriel was fascinated by the Valrriath people and has spent most of his life studying their tomes and spells, most keenly that of shapeshifting.
During an expedition, the urn of the ancient spirit of Azeal, protector of the Valrriath, was uncovered. Upon opening the Urn, Tamriel worked tirelessly to restore the dormant spirit by fusing it with his own body.
After many experiments using the Valrriath texts, Tamriel succeeded in the restoration of Azeal and was able to transform himself into the great protector.
Although revered amongst his Scrollkeeper brethren, Tamriel is considered mad by most due to his soul-fusing experiments.
Tamriel’s offers two options in combat; such as either dealing regular damage with Dune Crush and supersizing their elemental damage with Elemental Boost or to summon the mighty ancient spirit of Azeal who can deal huge amounts of damage along with causing their foe to recoil in battle, unable to move.
An anomaly amongst the Slayers, Kane is but a conjuration, an experiment of Tamriel’s.
Enlisted into the Scrollkeepers of the Fifth Order, Kane’s training has been in the art of summoning, with which they can now summon three beast spirits, that of a panther, a bear, and, a dragon.
It is not known from where these spirits originate; some theorise that they are summoned from a spirit forest where the remaining Valrriath now reside.
Kane has been created for a specific mission; to join the King’s plight, there they must learn more of the mysteries of the Necrogate and the dark magics that the Skeleton Witch possesses to better understand the oncoming perils.
Without their beasts, Kane’s durability in combat is limited, however, they can summon a prison of fire to trap their enemy.
In combat, Kane may offer modest damage and have the lowest HP of all Slayers, however, their beasts each sport their own HP which gives a huge advantage as Kane cannot take damage whilst a beast is active.
That's it for June, see you for the next update!
Best Wishes
Andy
May Update
3 months ago
– Fri, May 31, 2024 at 04:03:08 PM
Slayers!
Hope everyone is doing well!
For those going to UK Games Expo over the weekend, I hope you have an awesome time. Some of you have been asking whether I will be there. Unfortunately, it isn't possible this year, however, I will be there next year with Book of Skulls (and maybe something new....)
I can't believe this picture is 2 years ago already!
Now, to the May update.
Again, a huge thank you to everyone who has already completed their Backerkit survey.
For those who have not been able to complete it yet, we will be unable to ship your game without a completed survey as this is how your shipping address is recorded (and updated if needed).
Please let me know if you need your link again.
Late Pledges/Preorders
If you missed the campaign or know someone who did, Book of Skulls is available for preorder from the link below!!
Unfortunately, the full sample from the manufacturer was snagged at their Customs and returned for reprocessing.
I am assured that it will be with me very soon so I am anticipating to have it in the next week or two.
I have been working daily on the finishing touches, therefore, once I have approved the physical components, I will send the manufacturer the final files and production can begin.
From there, we pick up work on the App. As I have been tinkering with additional content, it made sense to pause some of the App work until all text was finalised.
There is also a heap of additional lore that is only available in the App, this lore is an expansion and is for those who want to delve deeper into Eragoth. This will be completed in the coming weeks.
We will start to give updates on the App closer to the fulfillment date.
I will also start working on the soundtrack, I have hours of demos to go through as I hone in on what I want the sound to be for Eragoth. Really excited to start recording!
In addition, I will start making the accompanying video guides (for those who prefer videos over rulebooks) in late summer so they are ready for fulfilment.
So, it will be a busy summer!
I wanted to finish this month’s update with a short Slayer introduction. This month it is Dio.
It will be no surprise that he is our bard! The Demons will not stand a chance against his powerful voice!
In his heyday, Dio would perform nightly at the King's theatre.
Since the fall of darkness, Dio has taken his song to the battle camps keeping the morale of Eragoth's troops afloat.
During his travels, Dio met the Alryn leader, Erothorn, who shared his knowledge of traditional Alryn vocal calls to awaken the Spirits of the Forest.
Erothorn trained Dio to use his powerful voice to not only affect his audience but also his foes!
In combat Dio plays as an all rounder who can guard, heal, attack and shackle. He also boasts the second highest HP making him a great option for any team.
That is all for May, see you for a big update in June!
Best Wishes
Andy
April Update
4 months ago
– Tue, Apr 30, 2024 at 01:01:41 PM
Slayers!!
Hope everyone is doing well. Here is the April update
Starting off with a personal update, I am very happy to share that my wife and I welcomed our first baby in April. After some initial complications, life is slowly adjusting to this new chapter, however, this has understandably affected my workflow over the past couple of weeks.
That being said, I am very happy to advise that I was still able to prepare and send all files to the manufacturer to commence a full production test of Book of Skulls: Slayers of Eragoth!!
So, what next?
I am expecting to receive the full test in May as well as the final Slayer artwork. Upon receiving the full test sample, I will be able to make a final check on all components.
Upon receiving the Slayer artwork, the character cards, box art and lore book will be updated with their final artwork and I will be able to start formally introducing our Slayers in the monthly updates/social media.
I will then be able to confirm to the manufacturer to go ahead and produce. Then we turn our attention to finishing the App and recording the soundtrack, but that is for another update...
To finish this month’s art update, all characters have been drafted and, with a couple of expectations, are all are progressing to next stage.
Some of the characters also have their colour pallets established. Below are some examples of the current sketches and colour sketches.
A huge thank you to everyone who has already completed their Backerkit survey. We will be unable to ship your game without a completed survey as this is how your shipping address is recorded (and updated if needed).
Please let me know if you need your link again.
Late Pledges/Preorders
If you missed the campaign or know someone who did, Book of Skulls is available for preorder from the link below!!
