Book of Skulls: Slayers of Eragoth

Book of Skulls Shipping Update
over 1 year ago – Sun, Dec 01, 2024 at 05:13:22 AM

Slayers!!

I hope this message finds you well! Today marks 1 year (+1 day) since the Kickstarter concluded!

Great news: the shipment has officially arrived in the UK! It was delayed 3 times at the port so it is a relief to have it now on dry land. 

The next step is to lock the addresses in the Pledge Manager, after which they will be re-confirmed with GamesQuest. Once the shipment is processed through Customs, it will be sent to GamesQuest for final distribution. I’ll provide another update later this month to share an estimated delivery timeline—rest assured, it won’t be long now!

During a post-production quality check on my couriered copy, I noticed the standee base didn’t securely grip all standees. To resolve this, I arranged for an additional, tighter, standee base to be included as well. So you’ll receive the game with the adjusted bases (and a T-shirt if you ordered one) in your shipment.

I’m thrilled to announce that all 33 pieces of music are now complete! This includes 11 boss themes, 10 battle themes, and 12 tracks for Overworld, Town, and Dungeon settings. I’m incredibly happy with how the soundtrack turned out and look forward to summarising this creative process in a post-fulfilment update. Additionally, I’ve submitted the soundtrack to Spotify and other platforms, so it will be available very soon!

As part of our tradition, each update introduces a new Slayer. This time, meet Morytha, a Demon turned Slayer.

Morytha, a defector of the Blackened Kingdom, was created as a vanity project by Baalmorgue, who fused the soul of a heavenly angel with the essence of a witch. For centuries, she served as Baalmorgue’s slave, becoming one of his key conjurers. Her existence blurred into a timeless void until her angelic soul was reawakened.

Struggling with the turmoil of her split personalities, Morytha continued to execute Baalmorgue’s plans while secretly seeking a way to escape. Using an advanced cloaking spell, she passed through the Demorgate undetected and entered the Mortal Realms. There, she sought aid from the Etheon Priests to purge the witch’s essence, but none would help her.

Over time, Morytha found support from witch doctors and sages, who taught her to suppress the darkness within. As her angelic soul resurfaces, she is haunted by the horrors she committed under Baalmorgue's influence. Now, seeking absolution, she is determined to bring about the downfall of the Skeleton Witch—and ultimately, Baalmorgue himself.

In combat, Morytha wields a formidable mastery over the elementals, making her an invaluable ally when facing Demons that restrict all Arts except elemental abilities. In such scenarios, Morytha ensures consistent and effective damage output, even under pressure.

Her Power Art, Kiss of Doom, leaves a lingering effect that has the potential to inflict substantial damage within a short timeframe, turning the tide in critical moments.

Thank you for your continued support, the end is in sight!

Best Wishes

Andy

Book of Skulls October Update
over 1 year ago – Thu, Oct 31, 2024 at 02:30:49 PM

Happy Halloween, Slayers!

I hope you’re all doing well! Can you believe it’s been exactly 12 months since I launched the Kickstarter? Time has flown by!

In my last update, I mentioned that the shipment was due to arrive in the UK in early November. Unfortunately, I’ve been informed that it’s delayed and won’t reach port until mid-November now, which means it’s still out at sea. As many of you may know from supporting other projects, delays with sea shipments are fairly common, so there’s no cause for concern.

Once the games are safely on dry land, I’ll post an update here to keep you all informed.

As the games approach the UK shores, the addresses will be locked shortly, please ensure your latest address is stated or please let me know and I will change it. 

Nearly all backers have been successfully charged for shipping and taxes, however, afew cards have bounced, you will have received an email about this. If you are affected, can you please update your card info at your earliest opportunity. 

On my end, the late nights continue as I finish up the soundtrack. I’m thrilled for everyone to hear it! Just recently, I tallied up the total runtime—it’s over three hours of music! Across the 21 intense metal battle tracks, I’ve made sure they’re structured to stay fresh in combat scenes, with plenty of content before any loops begin.

Next week, I’ll start the mastering stage, and from there, it’s on to wrapping up the ambient tracks to complete the musical part of this project.  This is all on schedule. 

I also wanted to share some screenshots from the app, which is nearly complete—it is pretty much just waiting on the soundtrack! George, the developer, has done an incredible job, and I’m thrilled with how it’s all coming together. 

We’re planning to prepare a short tech demo in the coming weeks, but here are a few preview screenshots for you now.

And as always, we’re introducing new Slayers with each update. This time, please meet the two fairies, Sharyn and Meadow! First up is Sharyn.

Fairies originate from the Spirit Islands, which lie within the Eversea. Over the Ages, they spread across all corners of Eragoth, however, due to conflicts and the threat of capture by so-called “Magic-Hunters,” they eventually consolidated their numbers in a region of Havenwatch known as Losfer Woods. This return was seen as a kind of homecoming, as it’s widely believed that Dahlia, the goddess of nature and patron of Havenwatch, originally created the Fairies.

During the uprising in the Age of Darkness, the Losfer Woods were destroyed as a horde of Dreger, led by Dragon Witches, laid waste to the forest. While most Fairies have since fled back to the Spirit Islands, Sharyn has chosen to stay and aid the warriors of Eragoth in lifting the curse over Havenwatch Forest.

In combat, Sharyn is an essential pick if you want to frustrate your foes by trapping within a void of flames. Although their primary use is as a shackler, Sharyn can also deal a good amount of damage each round and contributes as a healer.

Many believe that Dahlia created the Fairies, which would explain their unique connection to the goddess of nature. Dahlia is said to have been with Noah when he planted the seed that grew into the Great Tree of Havenwatch, whose roots stretched to the farthest corners of the forest.

In battle, Meadow can call upon the goddess for aid. When needed, Dahlia casts a Spell of Restoration over the Slayers. Meadow also carries a leather pouch filled with healing waters from a spring once found in the Losfer Woods. As long as even a single drop remains, the water regenerates endlessly, refilling the pouch.

While Fairies aren’t known for their physical strength, Meadow is determined to show the other races of Eragoth that what they lack in stature, they more than make up for in courage and skill.

In combat, Meadow is a dedicated healer, however, they can also deal a solid amount of damage each round by summoning a swam of Glasswings, their razor-sharp wings slash their target.

That is it for October's update, hope you enjoy Halloween whatever you are doing!

Best Wishes

Andy

Book of Skulls is on its way!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Oct 01, 2024 at 04:07:04 PM

Slayers!!

Hope you are doing well, can you believe that autumn is here already! Now to the update!

Starting with some very good news, the Book of Skulls shipment departed in late September, I am advised that the vessel will be in the UK in early November. Hopefully we will have a better idea of a date in the next update!

The invoice with the manufacturer has also been settled. 

In case you missed it, the money for your shipping and taxes was charged following the last update. 

A few cards have bounced, you will have received an email about this. If you are affected, can you please update your card info at your earliest opportunity. 

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!

I have been working on the soundtrack nearly every day over the past month. Following recording the songs, I have spent the past couple of weeks editing and arranging the files, it is quite tedious but really enhances the sound. 

I will need to add it all up but it feels that there is somewhere between 2-3 hours of music across the soundtrack. 

There are a few guests appearing on the soundtrack whether by the Bards of Fire tier or through collaboration/hire. I am really excited to share some clips when available as not only could this be the first board game to have a full original metal soundtrack it may also be the first to have saxophone and flute solos, yes!, we go full mario kart jazz metal on one of the songs!

Here is the updated progression chart. Note that red is to do, however, many of the songs will not have orchestration or effects, I will update as complete/green when I start this stage this week. 

Now that the song editing is very nearly finished, I will work on the orchestration/effects this week with a plan to start the mixing process at the weekend. 

Mixing requires listening at a decent volume which is not always possible at night so this will be the time I work on the ambient overworld soundtrack, another 10 themes. 

Work is ongoing on the App, I am planning to dedicate some of the next update to the App with an updated overview. 

Lastly will be the “How To” videos once the soundtrack is complete. 

A lot of work to do but the end is (almost) on the horizon.

This month, we are meeting the Slayer named Lydia 

Magic takes many forms across Eragoth, some beings are able to conjure forces out of thin air and some require a form of conduit. Lydia’s conduit is one born of vengeance. 

Dragged behind her in chains are the reanimated corpse of a Kvltist Priest of the Infernal Flame. One night when Lydia was young, her town was attacked by Kvltists. 

The townsfolk were either burnt where they slept or taken hostage for later sacrifice. Lydia, who was around 8 at the time, was able to escape into the surrounding overgrowth and was eventually taken in by travellers. She vowed that day that she would learn the skills to take revenge on the Kvlt. 

When she was old enough to leave her adopted family, Lydia would spend time with beings from all over Eragoth. In her travels, she learned how to conjure and to command the elements. She also spent a great deal of time in darkness, learning possession spells and curses. Lydia would hunt the priests that burned her childhood town to the ground, slaughtering them all. Kvltist Crimsonus was identified as the one who led the attack on that day. She sought that Crimsonus would have no eternal rest, therefore, she has reanimated his corpse to be her vessel. By combining her powers with that of Crimsonus, Lydia has been able to learn much of the magic of the Infernal Flame. 

Over time, Lydia has become adept in necromancy and has defeated three further Kvltist Leaders. She has learned how to store their vessels in a pocket dimension, summoning them almost at will. After joining the Slayers, she is on her true quest, to destroy the Shepherd of Fire and the Infernal Flame for good.

In Combat, Lydia’s primary purpose is to summon one of her three Kvltists, each of which is specialised in a core class, either attack, defence or healing. Whilst without her conjurations, Lydia is proficient in magic with maximum elemental damage when fusing with the Element of Sands.

That is it for the update, see you next time!

Best Wishes

Andy

August Update!
over 1 year 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
over 1 year 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. 

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