Marcus, High Cleric of the Heavenshine Monastery, saw the resurrection of the Heroes of the Talon Coast, was witness to their glorious quest, was their friend and their guide. Now, his long search led him to a secret crypt and after many long years, he can bring back to the light old, crumbling pages of a worn tome that allow to solve mysteries and unravel the secrets of a dark and distant past, to find out how the story began: the legend of the Ancient Chronicles.
It’s time to enter the world of Sword & Sorcery again. The epic-fantasy cooperative dungeon-crawler board game where players control legendary heroes with unique powers, fighting together against the forces of evil, is about to start a new cycle: Ancient Chronicles, set 100 years before and in distant lands from the Talon Coast of Immortal Souls, the first campaign.
In Ancient Chronicles, one to five players control heroes awakened from the dead and made immortal by the will of the Gods, to destroy the corrupted deities scattered across the starless, stone-ceiling realm of the Underreign, with its dangerous ruins, ominous caves, and exotic cities. The new campaign brings the game system to the next level, with new features enhancing the storytelling and broadening the scope of the players’ adventures, introducing a greater variety of enemies, and more possibilities for the Heroes. Ancient Chronicles will have the same basic "two acts" structure of Immortal Souls campaign: in Act I, players will travel through the Underreign, and Act II will bring them to the frozen wastes of the Northern Lands.
The Ancient Chronicles Core Set is a new starting point to Sword & Sorcery, suitable both for newcomers and for players who already play Immortal Souls, being fully compatible with it in terms of gameplay - heroes and monsters can crossover from one campaign to another. The Core Set presents the first Act of the new campaign, and includes five Heroes: Artemis, the Elf, to play as Scout or Hunter; Jeanne, a righteous war-priest, plays as an Inquisitor or Avenger; Thorgren, a fierce black dwarf, plays as a Gladiator or as a Stonerager; Robin, a character belonging to a new race, the Halfmen, plays as Alchemist or Thief; and Xantares, a mystical elf, playing as either a Wild Mage or an Illusionist. Two companions, valuable allies whom to fight together, are also included in the core set: Dharma and Illusions.
Controlled by the game, the Enemies coming in the Ancient Chronicles Core Set include 12 different monsters, among them Elf Assassins, Giant Spiders, Hobgremlins, Tyrant Lizards, and Serpents, each with a unique figure and AI. Players will also face a new type of monsters: Minions, small but dangerous critters attacking as hordes.
The Core Set features ultra-detailed 32mm scale plastic figures, and modular map tiles to create endless combinations of scenarios. It will be possible to explore the world of Sword & Sorcery employing a kingdom map and exploring the cities, using a sophisticated combat and magic system to fight enemies, and experiencing a deep narrative campaign, following the stories proposed by the Book of Secrets, a story system which allows the players to explore different paths each time they play. The Ancient Chronicles Core Set is expected to release in January 2021, after the fulfillment of the first wave of the Kickstarter, at a suggested retail price of $89.90.
The new cycle of Sword & Sorcery will expand the game with new options available to players, first among them Familiars, a new type of faithful companions. Familiars are intelligent little creatures able to create a magical link with their humanoid friends and can offer valuable help on the battle¬field or grant peculiar abilities to its owner, but this great bond has a downside: when a Familiar dies, its owner suffers a terrible mental shock, which hampers his or her skills for a time.
There are three different kinds of familiars: Domestic, which players can acquire in cities; Magical, which can be found during a Quest; and Divine, which can be obtained by completing a Venture. While Familiars are not as physically strong as Companions, they are helpful to their Hero, and are sneaky enough to be hard to target from enemies – but players must be careful, as losing a Familiar can have dire consequences for the Hero.
Two expansions with these new creatures will be released alongside the Ancient Chronicles Core Set: Lawful Familiars presents the Dog (Domestic), the Boar and the Owl (Magical) and Pixie and Lizard (Divine), and Chaotic Familiars features the Cat (Domestic), the Crow and the Bat (Magical), and Imp and Drakeling (Divine Familiars). Each set includes the figures and card for each familiar and a Venture, and has a suggested retail price of $16.90. Players will be able to use Familiars also when playing the Immortal Souls campaign.
Three accessories packs will also release, to upgrade the Core Set. First to release is the Ancient Chronicles Ghost Soul Form Heroes ($16.90 SRP) features a set of five finely sculpted miniatures to replace the figures of the heroes when they die, allowing the players to immediately identify which characters are in Ghost Soul form during the game sessions. The miniatures can also be used by players who like to paint their figures, to create alternate versions of the characters. In addition to the miniatures, this set includes two gameplay expansions that enhance characters' back stories and customization: Remembrances and Backgrounds cards.
Two sets allow players to replace cardboard components included in the Core Set with miniatures. The Spawn Gates and Gods' Shrines includes 7 high-quality, ready to play miniatures - four Spawn Gates, each one with a unique sculpt, 2 Gods Shrines and 1 Party Marker. Also included in this set is an exclusive set of item cards, the Hollywood Armory. The Ancient Chronicles Minions brings 3D figures of the smallest enemy creatures - Nest and Venom Minions for Ancient Chronicles and the Snow Gremlin Minions of Northwind Tales, the Second Act of the campaign. Each of these sets has a suggested retail price of $14.90.
Five additional new releases for Ancient Chronicles campaign are planned to come in Spring 2021, and will further expand the players’ options when playing the game.
The Ancient Chronicles Alternate Hero and Ghost Souls set (SRP $29.90) presents five fully playable Heroes, allowing players to use a second character with similar abilities, or an alternate version, of one of the five the Heroes included in the Core Set. This pack also allows to customize each Hero using a different "Traits" card or a different "Background" card.
The Ancient Chronicles Challenge Set ($29.90) is a collection of all the "rank and file" enemies (green and blue) included in Ancient Chronicles in a variant rank, allowing players to modify the game dif¬ficulty and the overall game experience by combining the Ancient Chronicles Core Set enemies with these new enemies. The pack includes 8 Green Enemy figure, 8 Blue Enemy figures, 8 Enemy Scroll cards, and 16 Enemy cards.
Two Hero Packs are also in the pipeline, to bring more heroes into the game. Each pack includes two Heroes with the same class. White/Black Monk (Genryu/Shakiko) are powerful fighters, who dominate the battlefield using the power of their Chi - transmigration, spiritual powers, martial arts and special attacks will offer a completely new combat experience. Thane/Skald (Sigrid/Sigurd), from the Northern Lands, can be played as either a Thane (a warrior of exceptional strength and constitution, who can also draw upon mystical powers to throw lightning and flame against his enemies) or a Skald (strong and valiant, but also able to inspire and lead his companions with war-chants and mystical lyrics). Each dual Hero pack has a suggested retail price of $19.90.
But what’s an adventure game without opponents? The enemy ranks will also be reinforced by the Ancient Chronicles Nemeses ($19.90), an expansion set which will challenge Heroes to face an extraordinary opponent: their own dark side. Heroes’ Nemeses are the “evil twins” of the Heroes, embodying their darkest thoughts and fears, the evil recesses of their souls. A Hero's Nemesis is a being of pure evil, with the destruction of the Hero as its only purpose, and skills and powers to match him.
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