New Powerful Artifacts, Backerkit Reminder, and What's Next!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Jan 03, 2023 at 09:43:28 PM

Happy New Year Necromolds backers and supporters!

Before I talk about what I've been working on since the November update, here is an important reminder...

Complete Your BackerKit Survey! (Required)

If you haven't completed your BackerKit survey yet, it's critically important that you do so as soon as possible. The survey will remain open until February, so you have one month left to complete it. Failure to complete the survey may add additional time and/or cost to your pledge's fulfillment.

I just sent out a reminder email via BackerKit to everyone who still needs to complete it.

Survey Deadline: February 1st, 2023

If you're unsure of what the BackerKit survey is, please see my previous Kickstarter update.

Didn't receive a BackerKit survey link?

Please try recovering your survey using this link: https://necromolds-call-to-arms-expansion.backerkit.com/

If you have any issues or questions, please send me a message on Kickstarter.

Apple ID Email Address Issues

If you're a backer who uses an Apple ID email address for Kickstarter, there is a chance that you didn't receive your BackerKit survey link and the recovery method above isn't working. This is because of the privacy features associated with your email account. 

If you use an Apple ID email and didn't receive a survey link, please message me so I can update your email address in BackerKit and re-send you a link.

What will happen once the surveys close?

Here are the highlights of what you should watch for in the future in regard to the surveys. The dates provided are all estimates based on the current timeline information I have.

•  February 1st - Lock Surveys: By locking the surveys, I can finalize the product quantities for manufacturing. Once the surveys are locked, you will no longer be able to adjust your pledges and add-ons. 
•  February 7th - Process Payments: Using the credit card info you provided, I will process any payment balances as shown in your BackerKit survey.
•  Late June - Update Shipping Costs: I will update BackerKit with the final shipping costs and notify you. This method allows us to provide you with the lowest shipping rates we can based on your location and order size/weight. This will also be your final chance to easily update your shipping information. 
•  Early July - Process Shipping Payments: Using the credit card info you provided, I will process the shipping payment balances as shown in your BackerKit survey.

After that, the survey's pledge and address information will be used by our fulfillment partner once the inventory is ready for shipping.

So... please get those surveys completed! :)

Retailers

Although you will also be filling out your BackerKit survey with your order details, you will not be charged until closer to fulfillment. Because of your larger order sizes/weights, I want to provide you with the final shipping costs prior to locking in and processing your orders.

For now, please make sure you've completed the BackerKit survey with your anticipated order quantities. This Spring, I'll reach out directly to retailers to finalize and process their order details.

★★★The rest of this update is an optional read!★★★

Okay, now to the fun stuff!

It has been over a month since the last official Kickstarter update. If you ever want to know what's happening with the project in between these big official updates, please check for my latest micro-update pinned to the top of our Kickstarter campaign comments section!

Full-time Necromolding

Over the last month, I've been working full-time on Necromolds tackling numerous major project tasks. These tasks fit into five categories: Kickstarter Campaign Management, Game Design, Plastics, Graphic Design, and Art/Illustration.

Transitioning to working full-time on Necromolds has been a rewarding and surreal experience - only made possible by your excitement and support! The remarkable success of the campaign has also allowed me to work with additional freelance artists and designers, who I will talk more about in future updates!

And here is a fun campaign fact: Necromolds has fans worldwide with backers in over 50+ countries!

It is a strange feeling to put 40+ hours a week into a project that before now had only been a hobby. I'm feeling more energized, creative, and excited about what's in store for Necromolds!

Let's start with the biggest task I focused on over the last month...

Finalizing Plastics

Preparing all of the plastic files for manufacturing was one of the most challenging tasks. Manufacturing plastic components is time-intensive, requiring the creation of custom steel molds for injection molding. It is also the most costly part of manufacturing so there can't be any mistakes.

Over the last month, the majority of my time has been spent finalizing all of our plastic files for manufacturing. These files include the spellbooks, wound markers, banners, and artifacts.

Spellbooks

Before I could finalize the actual spellbook molds for each of the new series 1x monsters, I first needed to confirm their volume size (how much spell clay each model requires). The skills and abilities of a monster are balanced against its size rating, so getting the volume right was critical.

Kenny, the co-designer of Call to Arms, and I went through and analyzed all of the original series 1 Necromold monsters - documenting their digital volume, real-world clay weight, and cross-sectional area. This data allowed us to create a dynamic spell clay calculator. The calculator lets us enter the monster's targeted size rating and cross-sectional area to provide us with the monster's ideal digital volume.

On average, we found that 0.884 grams of clay equaled 1 point of size rating.

Now with the targeted digital volumes known, I was able to begin finalizing the series 1x spellbook molds.

Anyone that has played Necromolds knows that one of the most satisfying steps in the game is molding your monsters. Nothing beats squishing a ball of spell clay in a Necromolds spellbook and seeing a perfectly molded monster with clean mold lines around the edges. Getting each spellbook to such a high quality requires an intensive process of sculpting and prototyping - all while making sure the model conforms to the manufacturing requirements of injection molding.

I'll be honest, this part of the design process was tedious and slow. The satisfaction came when the spellbooks were finished and I could finally peel out that perfect monster mold!

Wound Markers

Not much changed with these. After reviewing all five unique wound markers, I confirmed that their sizes worked perfectly and finalized them for injection molding.

Banners

Instead of just the one banner design as originally intended, I decided it'd be more fun to include a second banner design too! That way both players carry their own unique banner into battle!

Artifacts

I re-analyzed the scale of each artifact against all of our Necromold monsters. Whether wielded by a small Mud Mump or a hulking Insectomite, I really wanted to make sure they looked great! After adjusting their sizes a little, I finalized them for injection molding. Gearing out a Necromold monster with artifacts is so much fun!

Introducing 3 All-New Artifacts!

During the campaign, we unlocked stretch goals to add three additional artifacts to the Call to Arms expansion, bringing the total number to 10.

Over the last month, Kenny and I designed and playtested a number of ideas for the artifacts, landing on these three as our favorite to include:

The Phasing Cap

When equipped with the phasing cap, the monster may move through enemies and terrain. It may also take 2 wounds to "blink" a medium distance!

The Odd Mutation

This gruesome mutation turns the monster into an abomination class (support on melee, ranged, and defense skills). It also increases the monster's support range to a medium distance!

The Explosive Shot

When this monster's ranged attack misses, it deals wounds to any unwounded surrounding enemy monsters!

After Kenny and I were set on the artifacts, Thad illustrated them and Sean Sutter of Relicblade sculpted them. I love the variety of artifacts included in the Call to Arms expansion!

If you're a "GIVE ME THE NEW STUFF" or "I WANT EVERYTHING" backer, you'll be receiving these three new artifacts in your exclusive Glow in the Dark set too!

Plastics Summary

I'm excited to report that all of the plastic files have been completed and are being sent to our manufacturing partner Panda Games Manufacturing. Now, their team will review the files and create their own final prototypes for me to review and approve. Once approved, Panda will begin making the steel molds for our custom plastic components!

While the plastics took up a large portion of my time, it wasn't the only thing happening over the last month...

Collector's Edition Call to Arms Sleeve

I've been working with French illustrator Harold Richer on the artwork for the collector's edition Call to Arms sleeve. I've always loved seeing box sleeves used as an opportunity to collaborate with a guest artist! As a reminder, this sleeve was unlocked as a stretch goal during our campaign. 

If you're a "GIVE ME THE NEW STUFF" or "I WANT EVERYTHING" backer, you'll be receiving this exclusive item along with your pledge.

What really drew me to Harold's work was its macabre tone and whimsical style. Necromolds is a dark and dangerous world of magic and golems which also happens to involve a lot of silly monster smashing!

Harold was really excited about the opportunity to illustrate the collector's sleeve. We met at length to discuss the world and lore of Necromolds, which Harold is using as inspiration.

The images below are some early sketches and explorations Harold made based on the lore. You can see some spellbooks, mud mumps, haunting souls, and other fun Necromolds imagery. He's planning to illustrate a battle scene between Hirana and Igneous, two of our Call to Arms Necrocasters!

As I was writing this update, Harold sent me some in-progress pictures of the collector's sleeve illustration... They look amazing!

I can't wait to show off the final images once they're ready! Let me know in the comments what you think!

Necromolds Lore Book

Over the last two months, Thad has been working on the illustrations for the new Necromolds lore book! Each page of the lore book features engaging artwork, unique border designs, scenes from Necromolds' history, and more!

As excited as I am to share previews of the lore book, I'm holding it back as something for you to experience in person when you finally receive your copy!

So although I won't be showing off the lore book yet, here are some other fantastic illustrations Thad completed over the last month. These in-progress character portraits will be featured on the back of each Necrocaster game card!

Each illustration really captures the unique personality of the featured Necrocaster. They all have a section in the lore book detailing their background and faction, so you'll learn all about them later this year! Did Thad do a killer job or what?!

Fun on Discord

In early December, Thad jumped into the Necromolds Discord and asked the community for some fun Mud Mump sketch prompts. Here is one of the results!

Golo suggested a Mud Mump taking down an Insectomite - resulting in Borguu, the Bane of Insectomite!

I'll be sure to share the other fun Mud Mump sketches in future updates!

If you'd like to join our Discord or our other social channels, check out the links below:

Discord

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Youtube

What's Next?

Over the month of January, I'll be working full-time to finalize all of the digital files required for manufacturing. The list of tasks includes finalizing the following:

• Expansion Iconography
• Necrocaster Cards
• Soul Cards
• Artifact Cards
• Expansion Rulebook Design
• Lore Book Design
• Series 1X Spellbook Ability Cards
• Packaging Design (Expansion and Monster Packs)

I will also continue playtesting the new content, getting as much game time in as I can prior to delivering the final files to our manufacturer. I run playtests in the evenings, which allows me to get a full day of work in beforehand.

Although the task list looks a little overwhelming, all of these assets are already in some stage of development. I'm also working with several talented freelance artists and designers to get things completed. I'm looking forward to sharing more about them and their work in future updates!

Our manufacturing partner closes for the Chinese New Year from January 22nd through February 1st, so my goal is to have all of the remaining manufacturing files ready for them when they return.

When should we expect the next official Kickstarter Update?

The next in-depth official Kickstarter update will be after I've delivered all of the final files to our manufacturing partner. Until then, I'll be working hard to complete the work required. As I mentioned earlier, you can always check for a micro-update from me in the Kickstarter campaign comments.

Any changes to the estimated delivery date?

Right now, we're still targeting Fall 2023 as our estimated delivery date for fulfillment. As anyone familiar with Kickstarter will know, estimated timelines can often change. Once we deliver our files to Panda GM, I'll request an updated manufacturing timeline from them.

That's all for now!

Thank you all again for giving me the opportunity to not only expand the world of Necromolds but to be able to work on it full-time for the last month. I have no idea how long this dream will last, so I'm using the time to my fullest to make sure this second print and expansion are as rad as possible. Being able to creatively focus on the game is also leading to some exciting future ideas for the next wave of spellbooks and monster-smashing chaos!

Let's make 2023 the Year of the Necromold!

- Clint

BackerKit Pledge Survey, Late Pledges, Cover Art, and More!
over 1 year ago – Mon, Nov 14, 2022 at 04:37:59 AM

Hi Necromolds backers and supporters,

I hope you all had a frighteningly fun Halloween last month! This is a pretty big important update, so please be sure to read through it all - especially the info regarding the BackerKit survey!

It has been 1 month since our Call to Arms campaign ended AND it's been 3 years since our very first Kickstarter in November of 2019! It's crazy how fast time has flown by these last few years.

As a throwback before we get into the meat of this update, here is our very first Necromolds announcement trailer from 2019!

 It's cool to see how far we've come since those early 3D-printed spellbook prototypes - all thanks to your support!

So what have I been up to for the last month?

The last month has been filled with business development and management tasks. 

After the campaign ended, it took Kickstarter a couple of weeks to process and deliver the funds. During the last several weeks, I've been working through all of our finances, manufacturing costs, and estimates. With the surprising level of support we received during our Kickstarter, I wanted to again triple-check all of our math to make sure there were no oversights at this scale.

I also managed to sneak in a gaming convention!

One of the hardest business tasks is finalizing our order quantities for the full product line. The goal is to order as many extra copies as possible without taking on too much risk by accidentally ordering too many. Here are some examples of the questions that I've been working through:

• How many Battle Boxes should be ordered?
• How many Call to Arms expansions should be ordered?
• What percent of Battle Box owners can be expected to eventually order the expansion? How many existing Battle Box owners already backed the campaign?

With six different monster packs, the new expansion, and all of our accessories, you can hopefully see how time-consuming it is to analyze all of our data to determine how to best set ourselves up for success!

Basically, I've been trapped inside Google Sheets for the last month.

But is that all I've been working on? Of course not! There is also...

Surveys Have Been Sent!

Emails have started going out to all backers for our pledge manager, BackerKit. You don’t need to create a BackerKit account to fill out your survey. Completing the BackerKit survey is required to receive your pledge!

A pledge manager is a platform used to organize and manage large Kickstarter campaigns. It allows you to:

• Upgrade your pledge level
• Add more to your pledge
• Keep your shipping address up-to-date
• Pay final taxes (if required) and shipping costs

After you respond to your survey, you can go back later and change your responses at any time before we close the surveys and get our final counts.

It's a really powerful tool and I forgot how much time it takes to set it all up properly! It's critical that everything be fully set up and tested thoroughly prior to launching the surveys. Thank you for your patience as I've been putting it all together!

If you haven't received your survey email yet, please check your spam folder or allow a few extra days for it to arrive. The BackerKit email will look like this:

From: Necromolds

Subject: Response Needed — Get your reward for Necromolds: Call to Arms Expansion & Reprint

If the email does not arrive in due time or if you need to recover your survey to make changes, you can recover your survey here: https://necromolds-call-to-arms-expansion.backerkit.com/

 Payment Processing Errors!

Kickstarter was unable to collect pledges from 80 backers due to payment errors. If your account experienced a payment error, you'll be able to fix it in your BackerKit survey. Just enter your updated payment information when prompted at the end of the survey.

Pledges with payment errors that are not corrected prior to the pledge manager closing will be canceled.

Your pledges just got even better!

The bonus Mystery Ring Packs that were unlocked via stretch goals during the campaign have been upgraded to Spectral Hero Caster Rings! Keep in mind, these exclusive rings will never be manufactured again!

So how many exclusive rings will you be receiving with your pledge level?

• MONSTER PACK backers will receive 1 Spectral Hero Caster Ring.
• CALL TO ARMS EXPANSION backers will receive 2 Spectral Hero Caster Rings.
• BATTLE BOX STARTER SET backers will receive 2 Spectral Hero Caster Rings.
• GIVE ME THE NEW STUFF backers will receive 4 Spectral Hero Caster Rings.
• I WANT EVERYTHING backers will receive 4 Spectral Hero Caster Rings.

If you upgrade your pledge level in the BackerKit survey, you will still receive unlocked stretch goal bonuses and all other campaign upgrades!

Introducing the "Battle Box 4-Player Upgrade"

Early in the Kickstarter campaign, I realized that our 3 to 4-player upgrades were causing confusion. The big question from backers was, what do I need to play Necromolds with 4 players?

I've also had a number of backers reach out to me asking how they can purchase more combat dice and gems. Instead of further fracturing our game components into more SKUs, I wanted to take the BackerKit survey as an opportunity to streamline and clarify the products.

The new "Battle Box 4-Player Upgrade" includes:

• 8 Command dice
• 12 Combat dice
• 25 Gems

If you're an I WANT EVERYTHING backer, the 2 Command Dice Sets included in your original pledge have been upgraded to a "Battle Box 4-Player Upgrade" at no additional cost!

If you added Command Dice Sets to your pledge as addons in Kickstarter, their value has been credited to your BackerKit survey. You can either add the standalone Command Dice Sets back to your pledge in BackerKit, or else you can put the credits toward the new Battle Box 4-Player Upgrade (which includes 2 sets of command dice).

"Call to Arms 4-Player Pack" Changes

The "Call to Arms 4-Player Pack" has been renamed the "Call to Arms 4-Player Upgrade." It now includes 6 wounded combat dice at no additional cost to our campaign backers!

So to summarize the 4-player requirements...

Playing the Battle Box with 4 players requires:

• 1x Necromolds Battle Box Starter Set
• 1x Battle Box 4-Player Upgrade OR 2x Command Dice Sets
• 2x Monster Packs (You'll want the included clay and caster rings for the additional players)

Playing the Call to Arms expansion with 4 players requires everything listed above plus:

• 1x Necromolds: Call to Arms Expansion
• 1x Call to Arms 4-Player Upgrade

Late Pledge Now Available!

Did you (or a friend) miss our Kickstarter campaign but really want to support Necromolds? You're not alone. We've had over 400 people sign up for our late pledge notification! A lot of them learning about Necromolds from the recently posted Goonhammer review!

We've just launched our late pledge via BackerKit. It will be open for a limited time, so be sure to check it out using the link below!

Necromolds Late Pledge Store

Retailers

Thank you again for backing our campaign at the retail level! 

The BackerKit survey will walk you through a couple of our retailer policies (MAPP and Online Sales Policy). If you have any questions or concerns about these policies, please contact me at [email protected].

In the BackerKit survey, you'll find all of our wholesale-priced retail products available as add-ons to your base pledge level. Please add whatever products you are planning to order to your pledge. The order won't be charged at this time, and this information will help me as I finalize manufacturing quantities. I want to be able to continue to support you with restocking inventory after fulfillment.

Once I learn how many games fit in a box, we will work together to dial in your final order for the most efficient shipping cost. At that point, I'll also request any required business ID and tax documents.

Finally...

Before ending this pretty important and long update, I wanted to share with you an in-progress preview of the Necromolds Call to Arms cover art by Thad Stalmack II.

What do you think?!?

I absolutely love seeing all of those Mud Mumps and Blood Mumps armed with soul-bound artifacts. Plus the epic Tormurack vs Petripod fight happening in the background is a battle ready for the big screen!

Thad has also been working hard on the illustrations for the all-new lore book, which I'll be sharing in future updates!

With all of this business prep work and BackerKit setup out of the way, I'll finally get to focus on the more creative and exciting aspects of this project: finalizing the game design, graphical layouts, and more.

Thank you all again for your support! As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

- Clint

Campaign Wrap Up: Pledge Manager, Late Pledges, and What's to Come!
over 1 year ago – Mon, Oct 17, 2022 at 05:52:33 PM

Hi Necrocasters!

First things first! I know I've said this a lot already, but I want to thank you all for being a part of this Kickstarter campaign and giving me the opportunity to continue expanding and evolving Necromolds. This is a game that would not have been made without your support, involvement, and excitement!

This second Kickstarter campaign is a huge deal for both Necromolds and me. I always knew that the first Kickstarter was all about getting the game made and seeing if people liked it. Financially, I knew that this second Kickstarter would be the one to decide if Necromolds could be more than a project I worked on in my spare time.

It was THE catalyst.

I truly had no idea what to expect when I hit the launch button for this Kickstarter. I had done a ton of groundwork to give Necromolds the best shot I could but was preparing myself for the worst-case scenario. I was even trying to figure out what I'd say on the Penny Arcade stream if Necromolds had failed to fund!

Luckily, you all showed up so fast that we blew past our funding goal in the first two hours! Ten months of stress and anxiety were instantly lifted off my shoulders as we continued to climb to our final funding of 553k! It's even mind-blowing to type that!

Here are some fun facts about the campaign:

• Our Kickstarter video was played over 10,000 times!
• One-third of you are returning backers, while two-thirds are brand new to Necromolds!
• Over 1,000 of you went all out and pledged for the "I WANT EVERYTHING" level!

This campaign was a huge success because of you! So let's celebrate! Next week Thursday, October 13th at 7:30pm CT I'll be live on the Necromolds Facebook Page to hang out, chat, and answer any questions you may have about Necromolds!

Now, let's turn to some important post-campaign information...

Communication - What to Expect

Communication and transparency are extremely important to me. It not only keeps you up-to-date on the progress being made but also keeps you involved with the actual creation of Necromolds!

I'm proud of how communication was handled in the first Kickstarter campaign and plan to manage this project in a similar way.

What do I use official Kickstarter updates for?

It takes quite a bit of time to write an official Kickstarter update, so I always want to make sure they are worth your time to read. I save only the most important or exciting information for an official update. That means that when you see a notification that one has been posted, it's important that you read it to stay up to date.

There are some time-sensitive tasks that you'll be asked to do over the next 10 months. For example: entering your shipping information, making sure that info is up to date, locking in your final pledge, and more. So please make sure to read these official updates so you don't miss important deadlines.

What about mini-updates?

I'll often pin a mini-update to the top of the comments section of the Kickstarter campaign page. These updates are smaller and give you a way to check in on what is currently happening in the project.

How else can I be reached?

Whenever you receive a message or comment from "Necromolds", that's coming from me (Clint)! I'm always watching our social pages, so feel free to direct message me here on Kickstarter or any of our social pages below:

Discord 

Facebook

Twitter

Pledge Manager

What is a pledge manager? 

A pledge manager is a 3rd party post-campaign tool used to organize and manage Kickstarter pledges. It is where you'll be able to upgrade your pledge level, add more to your pledge, keep your shipping address up-to-date, and more!

We will be using BackerKit for pledge management.

When will the pledge manager open? 

Over the next few weeks, I'll be working with the team at BackerKit to get the pledge manager set up. Once it goes live, I'll post another official Kickstarter update.

Late Pledges

I've already received messages from people who just barely missed the campaign but really want to be a part of making Necromolds happen. The pledge manager will be an opportunity for those who missed the Kickstarter to late pledge for a copy of the game.

If you missed the Kickstarter and want to be notified when late pledges are available, click here.

Retail Backers

Thank you so much for being a part of this Kickstarter campaign! I know it's a big ask for retailers to put down money so far in advance for a product - so I really appreciate your support and cannot wait to help you offer Necromolds to your local gaming community.

In the near future, I'll reach out with additional information regarding the next steps for retail backers. I want to keep this as simple, straightforward, and fast for you as possible.

Next Steps

My next steps involve setting the logistical groundwork for finalizing assets and preparing for manufacturing. It's all pretty boring stuff, but is important to keep everything on-time and on budget!

Here are what some of those tasks look like:

• Review our final order quantities based on the success of the Kickstarter.
• Review the status of all reprint and expansion assets. Ask myself if there is anything I'd like to improve upon or look closer at now that the production has additional funding.
• Meet with my manufacturing manager to lock in a timeline for delivering assets.

Wrap Up

That's all for now! We have a really exciting year ahead of us and I cannot wait to share more production images, additional art previews, and the other fun things we have in store!

Thank you all again, and until next time!

- Clint

Funded! A Short Message from Clint
over 1 year ago – Wed, Oct 12, 2022 at 02:58:41 PM

FUNDED!

Wow! What a first day to the campaign. I'm a bit overwhelmed with excitement knowing that the success of this campaign means I'll get to put more of my time and creative energy into growing and expanding the Necromolds universe!

Necromolds is a project that I started working on 5 years ago. Over those 5 years, I've worked together with friends, family, and all of you to grow it into what it is today. And although some things have changed over that time (my hair has gotten grayer!), my passion and excitement for Necromolds have not.

This Kickstarter was a turning point for Necromolds - from being a project that I manage and develop in my spare time as a hobby to something I can work on part-time professionally. You've all helped make this happen, and for that, I am grateful and forever thankful! It means that I'll be able to put time sooner into the new expansions and Necromolds products I've had on my to-do list since it first sold out.

BIGGER UPDATE TONIGHT

I know some of you have reached out with questions in the comments and DMs - and many of you can't wait to see the list of stretch goals (half of which we've already SMASHED!). Tonight I'm going to send out another official update that will have all that info and more! Today I have to catch up a bit at my full-time job, so after work, I'll be able to focus on answering questions and updating the Kickstarter page. I wasn't anticipating things to have moved and grown so fast!

Bump'in and Mump'in

Party with the Mud Mumps on Instagram!

If you're on Instagram, you can now party with the Mud Mumps in your stories! Necromolds' lead artist Thad Stalmack II put together these fun Mud Mump gifs and managed to get them into AR!

Mud Mump 1

Mud Mump 2

Mud Mump 3

Help us celebrate the #Necromolds campaign and spread the word to more boardgamers by dancing with Basalt's favorite little golems - the Mud Mumps!

Thanks again everyone for helping bring this all to life!

Stretch Goals, Spectral Rings, and a History of Necromolds!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Oct 12, 2022 at 02:58:12 PM

First, I really want to thank you all for supporting Necromolds and pushing it far beyond its initial funding goal!

To all of those who are new to the game: I know you're absolutely going to love it! Whether you're playing with friends or family, molding and smashing armies of monsters is a blast. Just check out the hundreds of player reviews on our website to see what our original backers think of the game!

And to those of you who supported the first print and are back for more: thank you, thank you, thank you! It was your support during 2019 that helped get us to where we are today, and for that, I am truly grateful! The new Call to Arms expansion adds such a fun layer of gameplay on top of the base game. It builds upon the core of what makes Necormolds so fun to play without overly complicating the rules, adding to the mental load, or bogging down the gameplay. It's also the perfect step-up in wargaming for those of you with kids who have mastered the core ruleset! Oh, and you're going to love the new lore book!

48-Hour Spectral Hero Caster Ring Update!

Since we fully funded within 48 hours, ALL pledge levels will receive an exclusive Spectral Hero Caster Ring for FREE! The smash design will be 1 of the 20 available in the Mystery Ring Packs. This ring variant will never be made again!

The pledge levels will still have the (★48 HR★) listed in their title (unfortunately I can't update it), but I've removed the pledge level expiration date. This will make the pledge manager easier to navigate after the campaign ends.

What is a Pledge Manager?

A pledge manager is a tool used to let backers upgrade their pledge levels and add on more items after the campaign ends. It's also where shipping and taxes will be charged prior to fulfillment.

Stretch Goals

In case you haven't seen them yet, stretch goals have been added to the campaign page! As of writing this, we've unlocked 16 stretch goals! We only have 3 left to unlock.

Three of the unlocked goals add new artifacts to the Call to Arms expansion. Check out this sweet in-progress illustration Thad already sent me this morning!

All of the committed stretch goals are chosen because they will improve the game in fun ways without a huge impact on delivery or estimated production cost.

But what happens if we unlock all of the stretch goals? Will there be more?

Like you, I absolutely love playing and collecting Necromolds. There are so many future possibilities that I want to explore, and some of them I may be able to include in this manufacturing run to be made available in the pledge manager or on the website later.

Here are some of the ideas I’m excited to develop over the next 6 months if we surpass our current stretch goals:

•  A brand new, larger, fully illustrated battle map perfect for 4 or more players - or just larger 2-player battles!
•  A terrain sticker pack designed to turn your spell clay jars into functional terrain pieces!
•  A punchboard dice tower that can also be used as a 3D terrain piece!
•  A BIG BOX or modular storage solution for carrying and organizing all of your spellbooks, rings, and clay!
•  BASALTS FORTRESS! I know many people were really excited about our white whale from the first Kickstarter - the clay volume measurement tool. I’m going to revisit the idea, improve upon it, and if all goes well, make it a reality!

With these future ideas, I need to make sure I allow for development and design time to make them as functional and fun as possible. For that reason, I won't be adding them as confirmed "stretch goals."

I can only promise you that I don't need a carrot on a stick to chase after cool Necromolds' ideas and content! :)

How to Help Us Spread the Word!

If you're a new supporter: Be sure to share the campaign page in any gaming groups you may be a part of! Let them know why you're so excited to mold and smash monster armies. The more new people we can reach, the more likely we are to fuel this rocket to the moon!

If you're a returning backer: It would be so rad if you could bust out your first printing Battle Box, play a match, and share some photos or videos on social in other gaming communities! I love my promotional photos, but nothing beats seeing a real person playing a real game!

Here is a shortened link to the campaign that is easy to share: http://kck.st/3qxHUrZ

If you're curious as to how Necromolds came about, here is a brief history of the game's creation:

Rewind back to 1996...

My parents were still together, I was in my childhood home, Space Jam was in theaters, and I just got the board game The Grape Escape from a garage sale.  I don’t think I ever actually played the game, but I did love the clay mold of the grape character it came with.  Seven-year-old me would make squads of grapes and send them into imaginary battle, destroying and smashing the fallen soldiers.

Now fast forward to 2017.  For many years I’d been going to gaming conventions for a mix of dungeon crawling and wargaming.  One of my favorite sights is seeing families gaming together.  Something about seeing a dad and his kid geek out over a character sheet makes my unlawful chaotic heart melt - which got me wondering about how I could make wargaming as unintimidating as some of the great tabletop RPG games out there.  Creating something that I could play with my step-brother or friend’s kids felt like a fun challenge.  I set to work listing what I thought was so intimidating about wargaming and how this game would need to be different:

• It would need to have a fast pace and a shorter playtime.
• It couldn't have fragile minis.
• It couldn't require the dedication and patience needed to paint a whole army.
• The cost would have to be as affordable for families as possible.

Which got me thinking back to smashing those little armies of grape soldiers on the old wooden floor of the house I grew up in.  For a few months, I puzzled through the potential and landed on creating a wargame where wizards create golem armies out of clay to fight on their behalf.  The more I explored the idea and the possibilities, the more invested and excited I became in making it a reality!

I’ve found that it’s around 9 when kids get really interested in the monster’s gameplay abilities and the rules of play.  That’s why I worked to design every aspect of the game pieces themselves as toys.  For example, the battle map isn’t some empty arena to fight in - it’s a highly illustrated scene partially inspired by Martin Handford’s Where’s Waldo maps - showcasing a battle from the world’s lore!

As I'm sure you can tell, the toys of my 90's childhood have had a huge influence on the Necromolds' style. Goosebumps, Creepy Crawlers, Mad Max, Mad Magazine, Ninja Stretch Armstrong, and many more. I wanted Necromolds to have the high, take-no-prisoners energy of those toys - but while being something original and not just a remake.

Necromolds has come a long way since those first two years of design and development. In 2019, we successfully funded the first print run of Necromolds. In 2021, we fulfilled that Kickstarter and nervously awaited the reviews and impressions from our supporters. And whether they were a professional board game reviewer or just someone who plays games with their friends and family, the overall consensus was...

They loved it!

This Kickstarter is a very important milestone in the future of Necromolds. Because of the high cost of manufacturing and the unexpected pandemic freight, the first Kickstarter was all about breaking even and seeing if people liked the game. I always knew that the next step would be the make-or-break moment. That is probably why it has taken me extra time to get this reprint and expansion Kickstarter launched. Knowing that failure would be catastrophic, I wanted to make sure I set the campaign up for success as best I could.

When I say that this reprint and expansion wouldn't be happening without the success of this campaign and your support, I really mean it. And the better this campaign does, the sooner we'll be able to develop and produce more monster packs, accessories, and expansions.

Collaborations

One of the most satisfying parts of the last year has been how many talented artists and designers I've had the opportunity to collaborate with on Necromolds. For example, we worked with TinkerHouse to design the 3D constructible terrain pieces included in the expansion.

We also collaborated with Sean Sutter of Metal King Studios/Relicblade to create the sculpts for Tormurack and the soul-haunted artifacts your Necromolds will be wielding!

Sean is an extremely talented game designer, artist, and just a great person to support. He just launched his own Kickstarter for Relicblade today! If you dig his style and want to support another indie developer, please check it out!

To Wrap Up This First Big Update...

Necromolds has been a passion project that I've only been able to develop outside of my day job. There isn't a single day I don't work on or do something with Necromolds - and as the project has grown, my free time has shrunk. For me personally, the success of this campaign will have a dramatic change in my life. At the moment, I'll be able to start dedicating more of my professional work hours to working on Necromolds! And the better this campaign does, the faster I'll be able to make that transition!

That means more monsters, more terrain, and more ways to play!!!

So thank you all for giving me the green light to push forward with growing and working on Necromolds. It is a game that I love creating. It's a universe that I love developing. And it's a wargame that I love playing.

- Clint