The submarine will come with a detailed coral reef base and will have a full cockpit interior with windows cast in clear resin to allow for viewing of the pilot.

We are also producing new miniatures for DeepWars, shown below.

Backstory of the Argonaut – from Blood Reef

The Argonaut is a small submersible created by the Fortune Hunters for exploring the shallow waters of Blood Reef. It was built quickly using spare parts and salvaged junk found on the bottom of the Shadow Sea and may appear to be a slapdash hunk of wreckage but is actually a rugged and dependable marine vehicle.

Up to eight models can be transported within the pressurized hull of the Argonaut, including the pilot and gunner. Models within the sub are always wearing their dive suits when exploring Blood Reef, just in case the sub sinks. This is an unlikely situation though, as the Argonaut is heavily armored with thick steel plates and is bristling with weapons.

The primary weapons for underwater combat are twin banks of torpedoes on either side of the sub. These can be fired when the sub is turned broadside to an enemy submersible or one of the massive creatures of the deep. When the Argonaut is surfaced or still underwater, it can also bring to bear its deadly auto-loading deck gun, which fires explosive-tipped projectiles. This weapon can also be fitted with a standard harpoon so it can strike and pull in large targets. When in close, the Argonaut can ram into enemy craft with an extendable steel spar and puncture their hulls.

About DeepWars

DeepWars is a tabletop wargame using the „Song of Blades“ game mechanics (of Ganesha Games) set in an alternate 17th century world, where forces battle below the waves of a lost underground ocean beneath a frozen southern continent, vying for control over ancient sunken ruins and wrecks holding powerful artifacts and golden treasures. Players command warbands in battles that can span long campaigns, developing their warriors as they gain experience though combat, exploration and recovery of treasure. The supplement, Blood Reef, introduces a new force for players to use, the Nereids of Blood Reef, and new wild sea creatures and rules for submersible vehicles.

The game is played on the tabletop in an area of a meter square of less, and allows for vertical movement through the water column, so the game has a unique 3D gameplay style. The game is typically played with small warbands of 4-8 models and matches last around an hour. Some examples of gameplay are shown in videos below from Crankyoldgamer.net.

The primary rewards of the project are submersible models, miniatures and rulebooks. All reward levels also include the PDF versions of the DeepWars 2.5 rules, Blood Reef supplement and the painting guide, „Painting Scaly Beasts“. Higher pledge levels include printed versions of the books.

Choosing Rewards and the Point System

Backers get their choice of items depending on their pledge level. Some pledges come with miniature „points“ that can be used to choose anything from the initial goals or unlocked by stretch goals. The point-based method allows trading these miniatures for other items. Each miniature on a 30 mm base is worth 1 point, but larger miniatures on 40 mm or 50 mm bases can be 2 or more points.The rewards shown below have a point value so backers can pick and choose how to spend their miniature points.

Those that backed any one of our previous projects at $100 or higher and back this one at $100 level or higher get one bonus miniature point added to their rewards. Those that backed a previous project at $200 or higher get 2 bonus points if they back at $215 or more for this one (not including extra international shipping). These bonuses are not cumulative.

Items in the reward levels may be swapped for points to use on other items. Warband Starter Sets, for example, can be swapped for 4 points each, Softcover DeepWars rulebooks can be swapped for 3 points, hardcover rulebooks for 7 points and the softcover Blood Reef supplement and for 2 points. PDF books cannot be swapped for points. Submersibles can be swapped for 10 points.

Reward Levels

Most of our 28-32mm tall miniatures are cast in white metal, giving them high detail level and a nice solid heft. Larger miniatures like the Beast of Blood Reef and some personality models are cast in rigid, high-detail resin, preserving the maximum level of detail while reducing weight.

The Warband Starter Sets of miniatures include the Following:

4 metal miniatures with 30mm plastic base and metal base insert, game cards for each miniature, printed quickstart rules set, a sheet of game counters, measurement sticks and a Warband Record Sheet.

Adding to Rewards

One can add any unlocked models, books, terrain and starter sets to the pledge by either adding a monetary amount shown for the item or by spending the extra points that come at different pledge levels. The new miniatures that can be added as rewards are shown below.

DeepWars and ShadowSea Rewards

Backers may add rewards from the existing library of DeepWars and ShadowSea items. Click on the links below to see additional reward options. Note: All DeepWars miniatures that can be used in ShadowSea with no modifications to the model have a gold coin next to them on the list of „unlocked“ reward items that can be chosen by backers

DeepWars – All Reward Options

ShadowSea – Axibalan Empire Rewards

ShadowSea – Dark Mariner Rewards

ShadowSea – Draconid Legion Rewards

ShadowSea – Fortune Hunter Rewards

ShadowSea – Order of Yosoth Rewards

ShadowSea – Sunless Kingdom Rewards

ShadowSea – Books and Scenery Rewards

ShadowSea – Wild Creatures & Other Models

All current rewards spreadsheet (.xls file) – click to download

If a backer would like to get new game cards for models already on hand, each card can be added for $0.50. This can be directly added to the pledge.

Shipping

Shipping is going to be handled differently than in our previous projects. We are now going to be calculating the shipping costs through the USPS at the time of shipment and allow them to be paid through a pledge manager page or directly through Paypal. This allows us to determine the cost for shipping in bulk to our UK distribution center for fulfillment to the EU and UK. We will be using GamesQuest once again to handle fulfillment to the EU and UK so that VAT and other fees are included in the pledge (EU Friendly).

For most rewards of a few miniatures, we ship using a padded envelope to save on shipping costs. Printed books are included in boxed shipments but not envelopes, and are instead shipped directly from the UK printer for EU backers, saving a larger amount overall.

Estimated values for shipping levels are:

• Basic:                    $5 USA   $5 to $8 international
• Captain:                $10 USA  $15 International
• Sub Commander:  $10 USA $20 International
• GameMaster:         $15 USA $30 International
• GameMaster Pro:  $20 USA $40 International
• GameMaster Ultra: $25 USA $50 International

These values are for the standard rewards. Any additional items added to the rewards will affect the weight and the final shipping costs. Certain items add more weight than others. Vinyl game mats and printed books add around 1-2 lbs to the weight and require larger boxes, so they add between $10-$20 to shipping, depending on the country.

Multiple Shipments

Backers with newly produced rewards that want to receive their existing items early can pay for the extra cost of two shipments, based on weight of items. This is handled after the kickstarter ends.

Note: Backers can choose to get their rewards from this Kickstarter shipped within 4 weeks of the ending if the items are currently produced and in stock. We cannot guarantee that all items will be in stock immediately after the project ends but we will ship as soon as they are cast or printed and are available. All newly produced items and stretch items are targeted for the project ship date.

If the project is funded, we will continue to add additional stretch goals to achieve so that we can create more products. Stretch items are intended to be produced at the same time as the core project items, although some may take longer. Any additional time to complete any stretch items will be estimated and noted for that item.

We also have bonus points that are added to pledges as we hit certain milestones. These points are used for items from above or stretch items as they are unlocked.

The first stretch goal is the Sea Troll warbeast. These monstrous creations of the Sea Hag are the hunters of the Sea Goblin tribe, able to take down huge marine and land prey with their harpoons. They may be commanded by a Deep Caller only.

The $10000 stretch goal is the Ol‘ Ginny Greenteeth, the Sea Hag. a witch of terrible power with an appetite for human flesh. This model will be 32 mm tall will be sculpted by Valerio Terranova, our 3D designer of the submarine and many other of our models.

The next stretch goal is the Submersible for the Ancients of Atalán, the Sea Wraith. This will be another huge and detailed resin kit of around 180mm in length. The Sea Wraiths are designed with a shallow draft so they can pass over the jagged corals within shallow reef zones and can transport up to six troopers.

Next up is the Carangaform Mech Swarm for the Ancients. These shoals of small mechanical constructs swarm around targets, slashing with sharp teeth and fins and leave victims torn to pieces, drifting with the tide.

Risks and challenges

There are many steps to completing this project but we feel that we can manage it well as this will be our sixth Kickstarter project. The others produced rewards that shipped in a timely manner, with few delays to the core funded products. We now have extensive experience in printing 3D models and hand-sculpting other and casting them, so we expect the production of the submarine and other miniatures to go smoothly.

The biggest challenge we expect will be in timing all of the different aspects of design so that they reach completion at expected deadlines. We have learned though our our previous projects that issues do occur during production and to leave sufficient time and funds to mitigate the issues.

Die Kampagne hat ihr Ziel von 8.000,00 USD bereits erreicht und steht aktuell bei 10.364,00 USD, bei einer Laufzeit von noch 11 Tagen.

Quelle: DeepWars – Hunters of the Abyss auf Kickstarter