CMON Reveal New Art & Board Game, The Dead Keep
October 30, 2023 by brennon
CMON has announced a new board game project that will be coming in 2024. The Dead Keep features the wonderful artwork of Paul Bonner bringing this Fantasy world to life.
The Dead Keep // CMON
The Dead Keep will plunge you into a dungeon crawling campaign game with a cooperative vibe. More news is going to be coming out as we go through the next few months in the run-up to the launch of the project in Q2 2024. We did get a little bit of lore about what's going to be happening with The Dead Keep...
"Legends whisper of the Dead Keep, an accursed fortified city on a remote island. Many have entered, following the rumours of unimaginable riches and secrets of immortality, but none have returned. Until now."
Interesting indeed! We got the cover art above for the box but Paul Bonner also shared the full picture which you can see below over on Facebook.
The Dead Keep (Art) // Paul Bonner
This all looks very fascinating. Whilst the game gives us the impression that it's a dungeon crawler, I would say that the artwork gives off the vibe of a skirmish game. I do very much like it though and I would guess that you can start to see some of the characters that we might be playing as when we dive into the game in the piece by Bonner.
You've got the befeathered hunter, the lady with the big two-handed sword and the Dwarf with that sword and shield at the ready. There is also a lady bellowing in the back with a staff in hand who might take on the role of the spellcaster. Last but not least, a very heavily armoured knight with hammer and sword at the ready. There might also be a sneaky Dwarf stuck in the background, perhaps as friend to the roaring bear.
All of these heroes seem to be going up against some twisted foes that look like they have a touch of the undead about them. You've also got those magpies swooping through the scene which could end up being important, or simply just to look snazzy.
I really like the art of Paul Bonner and I've loved his work in worlds like Trudvang. The Dead Keep is currently looking just as evocative and I can't wait to see what the miniatures look like. The game could also be intriguing too!
Will you be keeping an eye out for more on The Dead Keep?
"...I would guess that you can start to see some of the characters that we might be playing as when we dive into the game in the piece by Bonner"
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Getting heavy Rackham Cadwallon vibes from this, which makes sense since Paul Bonner did a lot of that artwork.
Very Rackham, as others will no likely comment. Also watch out! That lady over on the right has a wrist dragon! So perhaps it’s a bit Prachettesque as well.
I’d much rather CMON deliver the rest of their last Paul Bonner art-based project – Trudvang Legends, which (barring the core box) has been in Kickstarter hell since 2019.
This looks awesome, but like Mythic Games, CMON have burnt any goodwill from me to back another one of their projects.
There have been plenty of issues with CMON which is why I do not back their projects. I have usually picked up some of their games like Zombicide at retail.
I also do not like their pointless stretch goals.
I will be watching but definitely not backing.