New Update & Previews From Kingdom Death!
September 23, 2014 by brennon
Another update for Kingdom Death has hit the Kickstarter and they're putting loads of effort into making this project succeed from the sounds of it. To quote the update 'I’ve been busy, more busy then I’ve ever been in my life'.
First up we have this awesome set of Lantern Armour for your various survivors. This is another kit that comes with more accessories and bitz than you could shake a stick at allowing you to make some very cool and personalised heroes. I'm a big fan of the massive axe and of course all the chunky shoulder armour.
Next we have these Stone Face Base Inserts that you can use to make all your miniature look that little bit more creepy in the world of Kingdom Death. Very cool and I reckon people are going to have a lot of fun when it comes to how to paint this.
Last but not least we have three new models for the range. The first is the Screaming Antelope followed by The Hand and The Scribe. The Antelope continues with their theme of warped and twisted animals and I love how it almost looks normal enough until you see the underside.
Following on from that The Hand is another one of their seemingly simple but very well detailed sculpts. I love the intricacy of the armour plating and the detail he's managed to get into every nook and cranny. Talking of detail and skill The Scribe certainly shows that off too! An amazing piece of work with his 'arm chair' (what a good play on that) followed by his creepy human-like lectern and all the little bits and pieces flowing around him. His face is astounding.
There are also some cool rulebook and card previews for you to check out too if you head on over to the update!
What do you think of all this new Kingdom Death stuff?
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The minis they produce are totally awesome. I wish I’d play a game where I could use them. OR that I could paint like a champ, then I’d use their minis as display pieces. Especially the disturbing ones.
The update suggests that Monster might struggle to make it to retail.
… dude, he raised over 2 million dollars, I’m sure he could bring this to retail easily 😉
… when I read the statement that says …
“Ugh. I don’t know how we are going to afford producing these outside of the kickstarter” ?
(O – o) ???? “oh dearz, oh dearz, gosh darn it, what can I doooo ???”
I read it as “how can I make sure I still have 1 millionz dollarzzz in my pocket afterwards ?”
($____$) (£____£) (€____€)
😛 ha ha, I’m sure everything will be fine 😉 he’s probably just playing around 😉
He said over a year ago that almost all of the $2 million went on the initial costs, and what he had left over was equivalent to around the two years’ salary he’d lost when he quit his job to do KD full-time. Since then the game has bloated massively, and he’s said that the funds raised from selling resin minis, which usually go on new resin minis, was now being diverted into Monster. I don’t see anyway that $2 million hasn’t long since been spent (including the pending costs for fulfilling the pledges) and won’t be available to fund… Read more »
Here’s the quote, it’s from April 30th 2013 when Monster was still half the size it is now – “The other very real “reality” is that after costs, shipping and taxes. The amount left over is looking like… about my salary if I had kept my full time job for the last two years! HA!” I’ve no doubt that the pledgers will see their giant boardgame turn up eventually so I’m not trying to suggest the campaign won’t fulfill. I do think that more money will need to be raised to fund the retail run (this could easily be done… Read more »
Add to that just how much of a market will there be for a super-detailed 28mm figure-driven boardgame about nightmarish fetish-fuel survival game. Might be those who wanted in on it already got on the KS? I dont know, just wondering.
yeah, I’d take anything somebody describes as a “very real reality” with a large pinch of salt 😛 … nobody tells you they are “being honest” or “telling the truth” if they are really being serious 😛 ha ha it’s psychology 101 … he’s probably just saying it for comical effect, they all do it 😉 … and anyway, if he really had no money left, he wouldn’t have added like 15% ( + ) more content since then 😉 ha ha also, he’s already confirmed they’re producing 5000 extra copies on top of the kickstarter pledges ( 2 full… Read more »
He was using that terminology in the context of a wider discussion. If the 5000 copies are in addition to the KS pledges then that there is enough for a full retail run.
yeah exactly 🙂 it’ll work out fine for them, … plastic production’s expensive, so it will still take a bit of time for the money coming to be able to support further development and production, but as the profits start to build up with each new run, it will get more easy for them 🙂 for further productions it might be best to split up the core box into a smaller base game and just use the other bits for extra expansions ? … as @poks said, there might be a limited market for such a … “niche” game 😛… Read more »
I think a smaller base set at a lower price would be a good idea. As I mentioned earlier, the price will be a red flag for distributors and runs the risk of scaring them away.
Stores and distributors are now thinking twoce about releasing anything that has been kickstarted (especially with that success), because they are assured NOT to make any profit on the first sales of the base game, since everything has already been sold during the Kickstarter and is already sold online, probably cheaper. That’s for everything, not just Kingdom Death. The money just isn’t good enough in most cases.
… yes, this is the main worry lately,
I think there needs to be a lot more involvement with local games stores in kickstarter campaigns 🙂
I like the idea that some have been using recently,
where people can order their pledges through a local games store,
and the games store gets to buy the game at stock price, and gain a bit of profit too 🙂
… I think it’s a great way to also build up an instant community of players at the store too 😉
I’m hoping the idea takes off a lot more 🙂
Are there any examples of games that were successful on KS but couldn’t find a distributor as a result? As long as they can find a distributor, it’s less of an issue whether a game store will carry them in stock as most games are back-ordered anyway until they prove popular enough to warrant up-front purchase. This is more an issue for a minis games than boardgames as a boardgame is a self-contained product. A minis game might be launching with a rulebook, half a dozen starters, and a bunch of blisters. Stocking that is big commitment of money and… Read more »
Sorry but…
I don’t care how good the sculpts are, or how many people dislike me saying this but the explicit sexism of the scribe is enough of a turn off.
Before anyone says it, no I won’t be buying or playing if I don’t like it
Agreed. I’m not thrilled with the style of a lot of these, either. And then there’s my pet peeve: grossly oversized weapons. They look ridiculous.
I tend to agree with that … even though I love sculpts like the flower knight and smoke knight, which I think are just pure art, all the degrading sexual imagery and weird cock monsters just don’t appeal to my tastes, … I don’t know … it has kind of a “rapey” vibe to it I think : / … it makes me wonder what kind of mind thinks up a lot of that stuff, it’s an odd thing for someone to want to imagine that (O – O) … the nightmares he must have, probably wakes up screaming every… Read more »
Woman need bras, he just prefers his lower support more personal and hands on 😛
… he obviously needs a … helping hand 😉 ha ha
… hmmm, maybe this is why he’s holding a feather too ? 😛 ha ha
The lot of you above that posted that it’s a turn off with all this sexualised images hit the nail on the head. Only so many people will buy a $250 game with that kind of appeal. I would have got into this game if only they made it much more oh clean. I don’t know if that really expresses what I wish to say but I know I will never buy any of the models just out of a moral standpoint and view. I would feel rather creeped out if a friend showed some of the models to little… Read more »
You mean sexualisation or sexual objectification – not sexism.
They clearly aren’t sexist seeing as they’ve taken the time to model armoured female warriors wielding weapons no female would actually be able to wield (unless they’re magical super light weapons).
It doesn’t bother me whether the scribe is sexist or not, i can just looking at it, for the awesome model that it is, I don’t take it to seriously, its a model after all, not real life
Agreed with you there Sarah. You have to take it for what it is, after all it is fictional. Dust has fighting zombie gorillas I think amd I have not heard of any gorillas in real life complain of their false representation. Hehe. Most male models in game look muscle bound and with square jaws, but people dont get over excited about this. If you look at a model, take it for what it is designed to be….. a playing piece that is there to be enjoyed in context with the game, not compared to with other models, other companies… Read more »
“oh no!, there is female nudity so it MUST be sexist!!” Bl I am getting kind of tired of hearing that people calling wolf all the time. Does Kingdom death have sexist miniatures, sure! Is this one of them, I don’t think so. (Although it could be argued that turning a woman into a book-rest is kind of objectifying her in the most literal sense) You don’t want to buy a miniature because you wear too small shoes and are afraid a piece of plastic resembling a female torso, will corrupt you. (and let’s be fair if the naked torso… Read more »
No you are correct.
A naked subservient female holding a weighty tome for a male scribe isn’t at all sexist
My bad.
… don’t forget the hands cupping his ball sack 😛
… need to make sure he’s properly fluffed up to make sure it’s tasteful 😛 ha ha
It’s not. You’re using a false radical feminist definition of “sexism” which, of course, does not match reality or traditional definitions. It’s a word game that is played and disseminated by radical feminists to basically warp our fragile minds. It would only be sexist if there entire range was A) not erotic (which it is) and B) was consistently “sexist” (which it isn’t, there are armoured female warriors). The word you’re looking for is “pervy”: it’s a “pervy” mode. Kingdom of Death miniatures, unlike a hell of a lot of other companies, do – clearly – come under that “erotic… Read more »
hmmm … (O . O)
….. I see (O – O)
so naked pregnant women giving birth next to tentacle monsters,
and monsters holding their intestines, with cocks for heads that have lion faces on them,
coming out of the pussy that is at the same time their shoulders and neck …
… is not only ” erotic ” but ” titillating ” too ? (O , O)
… well if thats yoww style 😛 😛 😛
… looks like somebody needs to clean their INTERNET historyyy 😛 ha ha ha
Let me introduce you to Japan. Let me introduce you to {CENSORED FOR EVERYONE’S OWN GOOD}
lol. You mean there’s degrading porn on the Internet? And here I’ve been buying these kinds of mini’s all this time ;-). I guess it’s time to toss out the curio opposite the toilet.
… I wouldn’t know about such things, I’m too sweet and innocent 😛 😛 😛
Switching my sarcasm detector off for a second lol –
“A naked subservient female holding a weighty tome for a male scribe isn’t at all sexist”
No, it isn’t *necessarily* sexist. The juxtaposition of the figures in and of itself is not sexist. Nor does it mean it is not sexist. I appreciate the comments section of a news story isn’t the best place to demonstrate why the mini is sexist, but as long as the discourse never goes beyond “this mini is sexist” then the pointless back and forth that accompanies every KD news item is the result.
Please note that the woman is in no way subservient, to be subservient you have to be alive.
She is dead, gutted, stuffed and made into furniture.
Do you give your furniture clothes?
I will repeat myself.
It is not degrading women, it is degrading humanity as a whole.
He is a villain, we are supposed to dislike him
The Hand is the only good model there, sorry to say.
I can totally see where the argument of sexism stems from in the scribe model, but I think its totally over shadowing the one aspect I think is completely wrong with the sculpt. The scribe looks to be standing on two infant corpses….hmm. This raises a question “When is pushing the boundries to make a visually striking model (which it is beautifully sculpted) too much? I have to say I feel KD has gone too far with this one as they add nothing to the character or the sculpt. Its shock for shock sake imo.
I think it’s fairly unpleasant, tasteless and offensive. But maybe that’s the point …
I am pretty tired of how every update is seen as another chance for dubious claims of sexism. Are there sexualized sculpts? Yes. Are there sculpts of naked people? Yes. But is it a sexist game? I would not say that. Are there pinups? Yes. Will there be pinups of male characters? Yes. Does any of this drive people away from the hobby? We have no evidence. Plus they are not game pieces. The Scribe is sexist because of a subservient woman? We firstly it looks like a grotesque sculpture on which the book is held. I would say it… Read more »
Damn if I could go back and edit a bit… sorry about that. But I hope you get the point.
This is pretty much what I wanted to say, it is just formulated a lot better 😀
It annoys me greatly how people seem to have a hard time separating the game from the pinups.
@Doctorether I totally see your point. I get what your saying about sexism within the game, and I understand that KD is aiming at the high horror or shock horror. I do think stating that it is not pushing boundaries that manga has not already pushed is true to a point. I am all for “Pushing Taboos” for the sake of entertainment, but I feel that whom ever is creating a story, movie or product that wants to push taboos they have to be mindful that they don’t cross a line that doesn’t really need to be crossed. I love… Read more »
I you are cool to say “that is my line, I will not go beyond.” But that is not the fault of the creator. Since I have been the host of a horror gaming podcast for 4 years now, I accept certain things can be shown, certain things should not, and it all comes down to the players and the what they are collectively happy having in the game. I will of course also not just consider all forms of horror, or nakedness, as being “a trigger”. There is a world of difference in the presentation of media between those… Read more »
I don’t think it’s necessarily just about limits or lines, sometimes, it seems to me, that the more messed up and extreme the content is, in any form of entertainment, either movies, comics, anime, games, books… … then the more repressed the life of the creator was early on … maybe even the viewer too … let me try to explain, for example, for me, I have no real interest in these things anymore, because I got bored of horror when I was 9 years old 😛 ha ha not necessarily the stories, just the extreme nature of some content,… Read more »
Or maybe people just have different tastes 😉
I think it is a bit much to assume that either the creator, or the buyer, i.e. me, had a pressed life. I too have watched horror from a young age, parents of course explained certain elements, and of course I knew it was special effects. That of course does not mean such horror, even if others find it shocking, does not have a place for offering a narrative within which there can be a take home message – perhaps the horror in Kingdom Death when we get the game is all metaphor for parts of life and the story… Read more »
repressed, not pressed.
… I think you misunderstood me a bit 😛 … I have no “ick” response 😛 I haven’t been shocked by “horror” or “extreme images” for 20 years 😛 ha ha I just realized I found it boring to see it, simply because I was watching it from such a young age, and I had discovered much more interesting styles of suspense and story telling, ,,, and then after that it was just like … “oh, so that just happened, it was gross, but it was pointless” 😛 ha ha I just think it’s possible to do something far more… Read more »
I guess dead baby slippers is my thresh hold, Im just weird like that.
You could think of it as plastic dead baby slippers if it helps. Or imagine they had a general anaesthetic prior to posing for the sculpt or perhaps paint them up as jelly babies. Hehe. 🙂
See, there is always a simplified and logical way around things whilst I am around. Also summed it up in just a few lines too. Hehe. 🙂
Kingdom Death: monster always throws a cat amongst the pigeons when it comes to the moral/sexist debate and most arguments have some validity within certain context. Personally I have ordered the Kingdom Death game because I like the idea of the game system and overall setting. I will most likely be converting a number of the genitalia on some of the pieces to an extant where it is less …er… obvious (sorry Adam) and I have directly avoided picking up some of the models because they are too out there for me. 🙂 At the end of the day people… Read more »
There is a genre of horror known as “Body Horror,” purveyed by such greats as David Cronenberg and Clive Barker, and typified in video games like the Silent Hill series and Dead Space. Not to mention a legion of comic books. Body Horror has several defining aspects, but probably the two most important involve the twisting of various humanlike parts into weird creatures and nightmarish forms, and the exposure of various characters’ bodies to bizarre mutations and unimaginable contortions, changes, or processes. This form of horror is not for the faint of heart, it is yucky to be sure. But… Read more »
Both the Scribe and the woman-book have optional clothing for those who don’t want the nudity, but I’d agree with bruunwald, it is the nature of the genre. I think the hand looks great, I’ve been tempted to buy several sculpts from his resin range just for painting. I almost backed this project, but considering people are still waiting 2 years later and just the sheer amount of stuff that will be delivered, I’m kind of glad I didn’t. Although there are a few models I hope are sold separately in the future (like the dragon) just so I can… Read more »
I love their minis.
People clearly miss that the game is an allegory of modern society, in which the rich use the poor as literal living tools, and the oversexualization is just another method of control, much like rampant consummerism. The game could’ve been called “Planned Obsolescence” for all the themes it has.
So another kickstarter is in trouble because the company/dude didn’t know when to stop adding shit to the campaign.
Another has bitten of more then he can chew, and now the people who invested money in the prject is left waiting for the product they backed.
Greed. It is a powerfull drug.
I don’t think the KS is in trouble, though it definitely will be fulfilling waaaay late.
And if there’s one person in the industry I wouldn’t accuse of being greedy, it’s Adam Poots.
… lol, so just mentally unstable then 😛 lol
” let’s give him dead babies for slippers !!! ”
” that’s a great idea Adam !!! ”
” thanks Adam !!! ”
” … and cocks … everything has lot’s of cocks ”
” great idea bro !!! “
but yes, he has added lot’s of extra content,
which was very nice of him 😉
The Kickstarter is not in trouble due to funds, but because the factory overestimated how quick it would be.
So given that extra time, Adam has added to the game in terms of card components and game content.
So this is nothing to do with money.
With regard to life after the Kickstarter, Adam essentially needs to work out how to create a cheaper intro game compared to the big boxed game.
seems like the most sensible idea 😉
“Visionary” 😉
ha ha ha 😀
… yes … he definitely has ” visions ” 😛 😛 😛 ha ha
I can understand limited runs of resin minis, because those molds wear out like crazy. But plastic production setup is very expensive and the tooling is nigh indestructible — it would be immensely stupid to invest in the tooling and then not use it to the fullest potential if there is still market to be tapped. If he has exhausted his cash reserves, he needs to find financing, or a partner or license the production rights. I have no interest in the full game. I just don’t need another board game with minis, especially at $250 price point. But I… Read more »
>it would be immensely stupid to invest in the tooling and then not use it to the fullest potential if there is still market to be tapped.
Alternatively he doesn’t really care? There is nothing in the KS stopping you from fulfiling the KS and then doing nothing with the project- if you wanted to prove to the world you can make a wierd-ass game and then do nothing, you can.
Yeah, sure. Why b*tch about the money if you don’t care about it? Even if don’t want any involvement in it (and I can understand that, he strikes me as an artist and not a businessman), you could still sell it off. Pocket the cash, let someone else handle production, logistics and sales, customers get the goods and everyone’s happy. Unless you specifically want to produce something that’s limited and rare. Is HR Giger’s art devalued if you can get Aliens toys in Happy Meals? Reminds me of what Howard Tayler, one of the few people who actually make living… Read more »
yeah, like I said earlier, he’s already confirmed they are printing around 5000 extra copies 🙂 the sales from that should help fund future production runs 🙂 especially if the price tag is $250 for a core game ( so $190 direct to retail for them ) times that by 5000, and you have funding 😉 it will still be quite tight margins for a while, but it will get more easy for them 🙂 … on the subject of plastic tooling, now that’s the big question … metal tooling still degrades like silicone molds … just a lot more… Read more »
Assuming a 30% mark up to retail then they’d only get $190 revenue per box if they had no distribution costs. That said, I’m sure 5000 copies sold at retail would fund another run of at least that much, even at a lower revenue.
I would guess companies use copper moulds for the same reason we pay a monthly mortgage instead of buying our house upfront, even though it’ll wind up costing us a lot more. If you can afford better material on the other hand, then yeah, definitely pay for it.
yep. that’s the theory 😉
just helps make it more easy to do extra print runs more quickly 🙂
and again, the amount of time the molds last is normally affected mostly by the type of material used for casting 🙂
… granted there’s a lot of pressure and heat involved too,
but the wear mainly comes from the material being released from the molds
and causing friction against the surface of the metal 🙂
… it makes business sense to go for whatever type of mold will support the growth of the game early on 😉
Not sure if its just me but the scribe looks very much how I imagined Fulgrim in parts of the Fulgrim novel.
… so … getting a handy from his own seat, while holding a feather and having his nipple pinched (O .o) ?
… yep, seems about right for slaanesh 😛 😛 😛 ha ha
Those are all very good but I am bothered by that impossible oversized sword that Lantern Armour #2 has.
Wangtastic!!
I am not sure I want to be alone with some o´ these minis during late night painting jams.