Update 21: It’s the FINAL COUNTDOWN *horn noises*
over 1 year ago – Tue, Sep 20, 2022 at 03:46:12 AM

[tl;dr- Stretch Goal Update, Daily Reveal #2, Whitebox Sample, Conundrum Prize!]

Happy Monday, Seekers!! And I mean it, it is indeed a happy Monday! Today we surpassed 2,000 BACKERS!! AND we unlocked the $260K goal, which means we’ll be fancying up the welcome box in the base game! The welcome box is the first thing you see once you open the box, and now it is going to have a fancy fabric pull tab (as someone who had to open the prototype without one, this is very exciting), a new insert tray, and we’ll ask the art team to upgrade the design of the box! Nothing to show for now but, like the rest of the art in the game.  it’s going to be pretty sweet.

Now we look towards our next stretch goal, and we’re extremely hopeful to unlock this one:

Personalize your journey with alternative looks! This is a Premium Tier stretch goal that will add 12 unique looks, 2 for each Seeker, to the upgrade kit. These will be on cards that slot perfectly onto the Seeker board and allow you to customize your Seeker the way you want it!  Here are just a few of them as teasers (they are still in development, so we don’t have them all ready yet):

And if you’re on the Board Game pledge level, don’t worry! We are preparing some of these as Print and Play options (in both color and grayscale form, in case your printer doesn’t like color, or you want to color it yourself!). We’ll have more information (and possibly some more sneak peeks at the looks) when we unlock this goal.

///DAILY REVEAL #2 

We talked a bit in Update 15 about how big and how involved the sidequests in the game are. Each one has the exact same care and effort put into it as each of our storyline quests, and are the biggest chunk of value we can add to this game (I’m serious, we had to reconfigure the box to fit it all). We’re so proud of the work Kevin and his team put into these. So without further ado, let’s talk about the sidequest revealed today…

NEW SIDEQUEST: THE TEMPEST (PIRATE THRILLER… A TRUE CONSPIRA-SEA)

We were really excited about this one, and getting to unveil it on Talk Like a Pirate Day. Yarr and yo-ho and even a bottle of rum! And then y’all had to go and figure it out beforehand 😂! Nah, we’re not actually mad. The fact that people were looking so closely trying to figure out these reveals is awesome.

Without getting too spoilery (you can always click the Quest card to see some images and stats),  We’re adding 26 new story cards, 2 unique enemies with their own AI (and their own standees, which means +2 standees to the Premium Collection), 1 new ally, and an environmental minigame that is just… well it’s on a pirate ship. Let the speculation commence!

/// WHAT’S IN THE BOX? 

Kevin Wilson (Kinfire’s Game Designer) recently got a new whitebox sample of the game sent to him. We’ve actually iterated with different versions of the box to figure out how things can fit together. For those who don’t know, this is a prototype of the game from the manufacturer with no art or printing on it. The purpose is to make sure the components are the right size and material.

So, remember that what you’re about to see is work-in-progress and photographed for our internal discussions. We’re sharing this in light of unlocking the Welcome Box upgrade and to show off some neat highlights.

First, here’s the big reveal when you pull the introduction box up and see all the folios, hero boxes, and the loot box waiting for you.

And now thanks to our latest unlocked stretch goal, we get to add a convenient pull tab:

Below you can see the guts of the game: The Quest folios, the Seeker boxes, and the Loot box! You won’t find a lot of deadspace in here.

Speaking of the loot box, here’s what it looks like inside:

From left to right you’ve got the void box for your fate tokens (why? don’t worry about it), treasure packs, Din’Lux packs, and level-up packs.

Last but certainly not least, a quick video of the magnetic closure on the box lid/game board.

Ah, so satisfying!

We’ve gone through this box piece by piece, taking notes and making adjustments. Once we conclude the campaign and have a final count of stretch goal unlocks, we’ll take it to the manufacturer for our final quote. We can’t wait to see all of this filled with artwork, text, and ready to play! We’ll keep you updated in the months following the campaign. In the meantime, let us know what part of the game box you’re most excited about (that magnet tho!)

///CONUNDRUM CONCLUSION: KILL 'EM WITH CUTENESS

In the dining hall of the Seekers’ Guild, Valora gives a little bow and a wave to the crowd before she disappears upstairs with Khor’s box.

The Seekers enjoy a round of ale as they wait. Feyn leans against the railing with a smirk. “This is going to be good,” he says.

Roland pats his beard. “I’m just thankful it wasn’t me.”

“I’ll drink to that!” Asha says. They raise a mug in his direction and the other Seekers join in.

“Ha!” Naz laughs. “I would have paid good coin to see Roland all dressed up.”

At the other end of the table, Khor seems to be ignoring them all, impatiently tapping their fingers. Flickers leaves their shoulder to fly up the stairs after Valora.

Not long later, Valora reappears. The crowd seems stunned. Some stifle their laughter. Others can’t help but release an “Awwwww!” or whisper “So adorable.” One person in the back even appears to pass out from the shock of cuteness.

Valora descends the stairs in her full-length mothling costume. At the bottom, she gives a deep curtsy and uses her wings to motion upward. Everyone shifts their gaze to the top of the stairs. Flickers hovers there proudly, decked out in a newly-fashioned Valora outfit, complete with hat, tiny bow, and mothling-sized arrows.

The cries of cuteness are even louder than before. Khor puts a hand to their mouth. “I—“ they say, and if they were capable of tears, it seems likely that they would have burst into them at that very moment.

The rest of the crowd shoves their way forward and lines up to take turns petting Flickers and giving Valora a little pat on the head.

Suddenly, Guildmaster Leera barges in through the front entrance. “We have a problem,” she says. “Luca’s cargo snail has gone rabid and it’s loose in the city. A load of bandits have taken advantage of the chaos. You lot—“ She motions to Asha, Feyn, Naz, Roland, and Khor, and then hesitates before motioning to Valora as well. “There’s no time. Grab your weapons and come on.”

“Now?!” Valora cries, looking down at her outfit.

“Well, Val” Feyn says, patting her on the back. “If your arrows don’t land, you can always kill ‘em with cuteness.” He hands over her bow, gives her a wink, and pulls her out the front door.

We had SO. MUCH. FUN. Doing these conundrums with you all. And the final result couldn’t have been better. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for playing with us. We’re hoping this isn’t the last of Flickers-cosplay Valora (and Valora-cosplay Flickers!)

Oh, and we have one more surprise for you:

YES, the Valora-as-Flickers cosplay is going to be included in the Seeker Skins goal! And we are planning to include her in the Print and Play version so that everyone can enjoy. Thanks for playing along and making this happen!

—

ALSO! The Brothers Murph is streaming Quest 2 on their Twitch channel  RIGHT NOW (2:30ET/11:30PT)! Go cheer them on!

Cheerfully,

Risa Petrone

Community Manager

Update 20- 48(ish) Hours to Go!
over 1 year ago – Mon, Sep 19, 2022 at 11:17:35 PM

[tl;dr- 48 hours left - WE NEED YOU!, two new unlocked stretch goals, Daily Reveal #1, Archery update]

Friends, we are in that 48 hour countdown! (well, 48 hours-ish). The campaign officially ends at 11:59pm PDT (GMT-7) on Tuesday September 20th. We need your support to help make this project the best it can be. By backing now, you’ll be among the first to own the game and– for premium collection backers– you’ll be able to show off your copy of the game  in style. You’ll also help us with some remaining stretch goals that we’d love to see in the final product, plus you’ll support a young independent game studio (and we’re already working on ideas for future projects!).Now is the time to hop on down and join us!

What’s ahead in the campaign? We were inspired by this community and the enthusiasm for Kinfire. We’re including some big, additional things to the game as daily reveals instead of offering them as stretch goals or add-ons. We’re taking a leap of faith in our existing and future backers, the same as you’ve taken a leap of faith in us to deliver an incredible gaming experience. Additionally, we have a few remaining upgrades that– with your support– we’d love to include in the box.

///STRETCH GOAL UPDATE 

We hit one stretch goal last night (after I had admittedly gone to bed) and by the time I got this update going, we were so close to unlocking our next stretch goal that we decide to wait and announce them both! Now we are adding a blank (DIY) Quest Folio to the Premium Collection!

With the latest unlocked stretch goal, premium tier backers will get 1 folio box, 4 enemy sheets, 1 punchboard with punchouts for 4 standees and 4 tokens, 30 story cards, and 5 memory cards. These will be printed in areas to match the thematic elements of Kinfire Chronicles, with spaces left open for your imagination (see an example in Update 16).

If you’re not planning to purchase the Premium Collection or would like to create more than one quest, a 4-pack of the blank quest folios is available as an add on. We are also planning to make the blank quest folios available at conventions and potentially elsewhere, depending on demand.

Reception to the blank quest folios has been very positive!!! We’re super eager to see what you come up with!

AND we’re already announcing the next stretch goal:

The Welcome Box is the first thing you’ll see when you remove the lid (which doubles as the game board) from the box. Inside you will find everything you need to get your journey started, quickly. With your help, we can make some nice component improvements (upgraded art, fabric pull tab, and insert tray) to make the box opening experience even more delightful!

///DAILY REVEAL #1 

This is it! The first of our daily reveals, and we are thrilled to announce that we are adding… *drumroll*

NEW SIDEQUEST: DELIRIUM (A MYSTERY HORROR ADVENTURE)

In Delirium you’ll be tasked to discover the source of a mysterious illness befalling the village of Hallstatt. In this hour-long adventure you’ll be questioning NPCs and trying to solve this puzzle. This sidequest gains you 26 new story cards, a new battle map, a new ally, and four new enemies (which means 4 new cardboard standees and 4 new acrylic standees for premium backers).

What do you think this illness might be? Or how you might solve the problem?

Check back tomorrow for the next reveal!

/// TIME TO TAKE A BOW. AND ARROW.

Just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to the real life archers (e.g. Patrick Steele and David Van Drunen) who have given us some constructive feedback about Valora’s poses.

When we initially explored Valora’s visuals, we focused on things like her personality, backstory, and relationships to the team.

Admittedly, most of us on the team are not archers ourselves and so it was a learning curve for us!

When we redesigned Valora for the new Action poses (see Update #12), we wanted to incorporate community feedback into her design. In the process, we were able to bring in some cool inspiration from traditional Korean and Turkish archery forms. These specific archery forms encourage shooting quickly while in motion, which is great for an action game 😉.

Valora is shooting a smaller bow compared to an English longbow. She doesn’t have a traditional gakgung either. Instead, we came up with a fantasy bow with a little bit of inspiration from multiple styles. The bow and form has a unique grip style which you can see in the way she draws her bow.

Thanks to our community, our art team did quite a bit of Archery research to shore up on some areas. We love her new inspired design and hope you do too!

—

Check back tomorrow for our next daily reveal, and the winning prize for the Conundrum! What has Valora gotten herself into??

Ponderingly,

Risa Petrone

Community Manager

Update 19: Short, Sweet, and Full of Stories
over 1 year ago – Sat, Sep 17, 2022 at 11:53:26 PM

[tl;dr: Stretch goal update, AMA Recap, New Brothers Murph Stream Time]

///STRETCH GOAL UPDATE

We are THISCLOSE to hitting our $245K stretch goal! So close in fact that we considered not dropping this update until we did! But we’re not going to do that to you. So we’ll continue with the update, and if we DO wind up hitting that goal today, be ready for a second update! (I know I know, it’s Saturday, we’re supposed to be doing short updates. But it’s the last weekend of the campaign and we’re all too excited to stay away from our computers. It’s a bad habit)

///RECAP: STORYTELLER AMA

Yesterday we had the last of our Kickstarter AMAs in our Discord, and we went out with a bang! We were joined by narrative consultant Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz (Cyberpunk 2077, Thronebreaker, The Witcher 3), story editor Cathy Bock (of The Game Bocks), and webcomic author Brandon Chen (God Game, Just a Goblin)

Here are some of our favorite answers (edited for brevity and clarity):

Q: What’s the difference between writing for platform games and for tabletop games?

Mateusz: I worked only on single-player video games prior to working with IDS, so working on Kinfire Chronicles was veery different. First of all, the liberty to design a setting from scratch which was liberating but could get overwhelming at times (when you can do anything, it can get difficult to decide). Second of all, the story and worldbuilding had to be made with the social interactions in mind. Much different from designing single-player content.

Q: How challenging was it to fit the story on cards with limited space?

Cathy: This was definitely the biggest challenge of all. Trying to be concise while also developing the setting and the characters was tricky. I learned to edit out a lot of unnecessary words and explanations, which actually helped to improve the tone of the writing. It was a good deal of trying to say a lot with a little

Q: What inspired the changes in the species from what we think of traditionally (like the elves being nocturnal?)

Mateusz: I think this specific pitch started with visual research, which is a proof that inspiration can start in unexpected places. I remember we found these amazing elaborate masks and I thought it would be a super cool trait for them to wear these in certain situations. From there, I started thinking of why would they do that so it's not just pure fashion, and the idea of making them nocturnal popped up - so they need to cover their skin from sunlight, and actually it started giving us more interesting worldbuilding tidbits about them (architecture, culture, etc.).

Cathy: I can't speak to the elves, since I didn't have a part in their development, but our changes to traditional orcs was out of a desire to create something fresh and unique while also being familiar. Our orcs have weather-sense, allowing them to perceive slight changes in the air, humidity, and even foretelling the arrival of the Darkness. Many orcs live in farming communities, using their weather sense to determine where their crops are most likely to grow successfully, etc. Orcs are also masters of sea navigation, and some have taken to shipping, smuggling, and maybe a little bit of piracy.

Q: What’s one of your favorite things to write about in this world?

Brandon: Revenants. They're so cool and the main character/villain of the webtoon are both revenants, which conceptually feel both a fusion of futuristic and fantastical at the same time. Also they come in all shapes in sizes, so fun. Props to whoever pitched that idea in the initial narrative meetings!

Cathy: I'd have to agree that revenants are super cool to write about and one of the most unique aspects of the world of Kinfire Chronicles. But I also really enjoy inventing whole backstories and origin stories and various elements and characters in the world that indirectly influence aspects of the story. I have a habit of over-indulging in details.

Mateusz: I personally really enjoyed writing about the elves, politics of the world and Revenants. Figuring out the main standout for the world was a cool challenge, and we also had a lot of fun with that one.

///BROTHERS MURPH STREAM ANNOUNCEMENT

If you remember, the Brothers Murph were supposed to stream Quest 2 last Monday, but had to postpone due to some under-the-weather yuckies. Luckily they are able to reschedule for a special Monday midday stream on Monday, September 19th at 2pmET/11amPT. Join them on their Twitch channel as they continue their journey. And if you want to see how they did on Quest 1, they have the playthrough on their YouTube channel.

—

Keeping it short and sweet on Saturday! Join us tomorrow for the first of our daily reveals! What do you think it might be??

Ponderingly,

Risa Petrone

Community Manager

Update 18: Loot, loot, loot!
over 1 year ago – Sat, Sep 17, 2022 at 09:11:31 PM

[tl;dr- Card Back Art stretch goal achieved, Announcement: Daily reveals coming soon, Kinfire Playthrough Ep. 4 w/ Felicia Day now live, Quest 3 spotlight, Final Conundrum results, AMA today at 5pmET/2pmPT]

///NEW STRETCH GOAL UNLOCKED- CUSTOM CARD BACKS ON STORY CARDS

We announced it yesterday, and you made it happen today. Eventually I’ll stop being surprised by you all, but it is not this day!

So now we’re going from this:

To this:

Now each quest is easier to identify, easier to organize, and come on, they look gorgeous. Well done everybody!

///DAILY REVEALS COMING SOON

Friends we are coming up on the final stretch of the campaign, and I’m not saying we saved the best for last, but we definitely have some exciting new things coming up. On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday we will be revealing some brand-new unlocks that are going directly into the box. No stretch goals, no social posting. Just hype.

///KINFIRE PLAYTHROUGH EPISODE 4 WITH FELICIA DAY

It is here! Episode 4 of the Kinfire Playthrough Series features a brand-new group of Seekers continuing the story where the previous group left off. Join Felicia Day (The Guild, Geek and Sundry), B. Dave Walters (Stranger Things D&D Adventure, Vampire The Masquerade), Angeless (Twitch Streamer), and Brandon Chen (Webcomic Author- Kinfire Chronicles: First Expedition) as they loot an abandoned camp, navigate some rocky terrain, and learn to work as a team. But mostly loot. Gotta love that loot.

This team will get the furthest of any of our sample playthroughs as they complete Quest 3 and one of our unlocked sidequests. Since you won’t see Quest 3 anywhere else, here’s a bit more about it, compliments of our story editor, Cathy:

The Seekers have finally made it to the village of Vinna. They’ve looked around the town a bit, they've seen the sights, bought some swag, and now it’s on to Quest 3: Into the Shadows!

The supply caravan’s difficult journey to Vinna didn’t seem like a coincidence. First, the wyvern, and then the blown up bridge and cursed stags? Something or someone is trying to sabotage the construction of Vinna’s new lighthouse. But who? Mayor Dara asks our Seekers for help but has little to go on apart from some shady characters hanging out in the forest to the north. The only problem is: anyone who goes too far into that forest doesn’t ever seem to come out. A young dwarf even begs the Seekers not to go. But the Seekers are trained for this sort of thing. Right?

The forest lies ahead of them and they'll have to work together to determine which way to take. Strange landscapes and structures have been left behind in the wake of the Darkness. Will the Seekers be brave enough to traverse them? Or will they choose a different path? And when they finally arrive deep in the forest, what kind of foes will meet them face-to-face?

—

Watch these new Seekers take on Quest 3 in Episode 4 of the Kinfire Playthrough Series

///THE RESULTS OF CONUNDRUMS- AND THE WINNER IS…

The dining hall in the Seekers’ Guildhall is packed to the brim with onlookers. Flickers, Khor’s pet mothling, flies down the stairs and flutters over the crowd for a moment before alighting on Khor’s shoulder.

Feyn lifts his arms into the air. “The people have spoken! The results have been tallied, and our winner is…”

Khor, Valora, and Asha stand next to each other—Khor bouncing up and down, Valora grinning, and Asha crossing their arms and staring up at the ceiling.

“VALORA!” Feyn calls out.

The crowd breaks into cheers—a few quiet boos and calls for Khor or Asha, but mostly cheers!

Khor’s head sinks for a moment before putting a hand on Valora’s shoulder. “Well done.”

“Yeah,” Asha says with a wink, “great job, Val. Go get that prize.”

Valora shrugs and steps up to address the crowd. “I whole-heartedly accept your vote and will gladly—“ she glances over to Khor, “and proudly accept my prize.”

Khor and Flickers both clap vigorously as Feyn presents the box to Valora. “Your winnings, milady.”

“Off to the dressing room I go,” Valora calls out. “And the next time you see me?” She grins. “Well…you’ll just have to be surprised…”

Seekers, you have made your voices heard, and Valora is our victor! Our art team will have her prize (and yours) ready for Monday’s update! Thank you all so much for playing this game with us and having such strong opinions about tough decisions like city traversal, enchanted objects, and monster distraction. We had an absolute blast, and we hope you did too. Check back on Monday for the final art piece!

///AMA TODAY

Quick reminder that we’ll be doing the last of our Kickstarter AMAs today in our Discord at 5pmET/2pmPT. Come ask some questions of the Storytelling team: world-builder and narrative consultant Mateusz “Mat” Tomaszkiewicz (The Witcher), story editor Cathy Bock (The Game Bocks), and webcomic author Brandon Chen (Yes, the same one that is in Kinfire Playthrough episode 4!)

—

That’s our Friday update! We’ll have a short update tomorrow (perhaps with another unlocked stretch goal? That would be pretty sweet)

Busy looting,

Risa Petrone

Community Manager

Update 17: The Home Stretch
over 1 year ago – Fri, Sep 16, 2022 at 09:19:42 AM

[tl;dr: Stretch goal unlocked, New stretch goal announced, Din’Lux Spotlight, Final Conundrum, Storyteller AMA reminder]

Goooooooood afternoon Seekers! We had a wonderful morning meeting today when we were able to celebrate unlocking our next stretch goal!

Now each time you pass that Destiny Bag around the table (“I’m only pulling numbers, you do it!”) you’ll be able to gaze lovingly at the custom bag design. Right now the mockup shows our Kinfire Chronicles logo, but Art Director Kate has plans…

As we turn our attention to our next goal, a new challenger approaches!

///NEW STRETCH GOAL- ART UPGRADE FOR STORY CARD BACKS

That’s right, we’ve got another Base Tier upgrade squeezing its way into the stretch goal list! We’re picking up pace to hit the $245k goal and we wanted to do something more for all of you.

If we hit $235K, we’ll upgrade the back of each quest’s story cards to incorporate more art. Right now all the quest card backs look similar.

We figure that adding art elements from the gorgeous folio covers would help make each quest feel even more unique and immersive. Further, if you were to ever misplace a story card (it happens to the best of us), this would be another visual way (in addition to the unique numbering) to tell where it belongs. Our graphic designer, Ines, has some cool ideas on how to do this so we’ll be excited to show you.

We’ll have a sample card back for you when we unlock it. We’re already pretty close, so let’s go go go!

///DIN’LUX SPOTLIGHT

On Tuesday, Kevin Wilson walked us through two areas of Din’Lux: The Stumps and The Horseshoe, the two areas closest to the sea, where most of the working class folk live, and also the home of the Seekers’ Guild. Today he’s going to take you further up into The Nests and The Coping.

The Nests

This is the second area of Din’lux that you’ll gain access to, and it houses most of the more successful merchants and many of the powerful but not ruling elven families who lived in the city before the Darkness returned. This segment of town is modeled somewhat after the steep neighborhoods of San Francisco. The Nests are dominated by Glory Plaza in the center, which is both a town plaza for the “middle class” of Din’lux as well as a place for various performers to gather. Since this is kind of the ‘showcase’ view of the city as you walk up the steps to the High Gate (and therefore something visiting dignitaries might see) there’s a city ordinance that any building roofs visible from Glory Plaza must be made from a pricey blue stone that is quarried near the town. I also put a lot of thought into where the more valuable estates would be placed in this area, typically on the edges where there are fewer neighbors and better views, as well as high up. A later addition to this area is a wagon road that winds its way back and forth through the borough. I realized that there needed to be a more practical way for heavy goods to be brought to the Coping, and that led to the creation of Market Gate and its corrupt guardsmen, who collect taxes on every wagon that passes through.

The Coping

This is the third and final area of Din’lux, where the wealthiest and most important members of society dwell. Powerful old noble families, the main segment of the Church, and the rulers of the city all tend to live here. The Great Lighthouse naturally forms the center of the Coping, built so as to shine its light on as large an area surrounding Din’lux as possible, to stabilize the farmlands and other supporting communities needed to support such a large city. City Hall is here, as is an elite guard force, the High Guard, who are headquartered here in the High Garrison along the northern walls. Only the finest shops can afford to operate here, so the rarest goods in the city are found for sale here. There are also a series of stone benches lining the northern wall, for sitting and enjoying the spectacular view of the countryside. Many of the city’s elite meet with each other and conduct business while sitting in these benches, while their servants stand nearby with refreshments, but a few of the more unusual inhabitants of Din’lux can sometimes be found here as well.

There’s a lot more that has gone into the creation of the city of Din’lux. I wanted it to be a character all its own - our Ankh-Morpork or Waterdeep, so there’s a lot to explore and uncover in the city. While Vinna clocks in at 7 locations, Din’lux has over 40, including a library, a casino, a number of shops and inns, and even bounty offices where you can collect bounties on your defeated enemies or even have rare creature parts turned into items for your use. Hopefully by the time you play through the campaign, you’ll know it like the back of your hand.

///WINNING CONUNDRUM- THE (ALMOST) FINAL TALLY

When the Seekers arrive in the dining hall of the guild, they are surprised to find a crowd. Word of this little contest, it seems, has spread. Khor carefully places their box on a table and opens it. Gasps and chuckles ripple through the audience of off-duty Seekers.

A frenzied murmuring comes from a collection of dice sitting on the table, eliciting strange looks from the crowd. “Shhh,” Khor says to them before tucking them into their satchel.

“Well, Feyn,” Asha says, collapsing into a chair and kicking their feet up, “who’s the winner?”

“Yeah!” someone in the crowd calls out. “Who won?”

Feyn jumps onto a table and lifts Khor’s box to show the crowd. “To remind you all of the terms of this competition, the victor will be wearing this!” The room bursts into cheers and whistles. Feyn sets down the box and pulls a square piece of parchment from his pocket. He clears his throat. “In last place, I’m afraid we have Roland with a single point. What a sad, sad performance.”

Roland looks over to the contents of Khor’s box. “That’s a victory in my book.”

“Tied for fourth place, we have Naz and myself!” Feyn’s grin grows even larger as he gives a little bow.

Naz shrugs. “Normally, I hate losing. But in this case…I’ll make an exception.”

“And in an unprecedented three-way tie, we have…in first place…Asha, Valora, and Khor!”

The crowd roars.

“What?!” Asha cries. “There’s no way I’m in first place. Count again!”

Khor bounces a little on the balls of their metal feet and puts their hands together in a silent clap. Valora laughs and pats Khor on the back. “So what now?” she asks. “We can’t all wear this.”

The crowd begins to chant. “Tie-breaker! Tie-breaker! Tie-breaker!”

The tiny voice of a talking d6 chants from Khor’s bag. “Tie-breaker! Tie-breaker!”

Feyn motions for everyone to quiet down. “I’m afraid there’s no better way to break this tie than to put it in the hands of the people.” He motions to the crowd before him, who explode into cheers. “Fellow Seekers! Which of these three excellent contestants should be declared the victor?!”

—

Cast your vote in the comments for who should receive the ultimate prize!

Friends, I am sad to report that this will be the last conundrum of our community campaign. Tomorrow we’ll know which Seeker has the most Kinfire tokens, and we'll reveal it in story. Then that gives our artists the weekend to create the final drawing of their… prize. Which we will reveal in Monday’s update. This could be the most important vote of them all!

///STORYTELLER AMA REMINDER- FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 16TH

I know there’s a lot going on, but don’t forget we’re doing our Storyteller AMA in our Discord tomorrow at 5pmET/2pmPT. We’ll be joined by world-builder and narrative consultant Mateusz “Mat” Tomaszkiewicz (The Witcher), story editor Cathy Bock (The Game Bocks), and webcomic author Brandon Chen (Kinfire Chronicles: First Expedition). If there’s anything you wanted to know about the world of Atios, this is the time to ask!

—

Alright, well I need to get ready to be a guest on the Panda and Phantom Show on Twitch at 4pmET/1pmPT. Tune in to see how our 3-player game goes!

Feeling like a star,

Risa Petrone

Community Manager