Fantastic news! The BackerKit goes live on Tuesday, November 19! Be sure to follow the project on BackerKit and stay tuned to learn all about the new Legendary ruleset!

Embers scald the land. The dead rise again. Goblins raze every crop and steal every glimmer of wealth. Ice chokes out all life. Evil lurks at every corner of the world, ready to take what they claim to be theirs. Ready to destroy all that you hold dear! Four terrifying bosses are marching towards Monarch City now.

High walls and tall towers can only hold back the hordes for so long. Who will stand stalwart and face the endless waves of skeletons and goblins? Who will send the imps back from the depths of hell from where they came? Who will stop the cultists from summoning The Eternal Cold?!

The new Legends Edition features brand-new game mechanics designed by Richard Launius, the legendary mind behind Fate of the Elder Gods. With Launius’ help, we’ve modernized the game, punched up the rules, added new and vibrant art, and given the game that we loved new life.

In the previous edition of Defenders of the Realm, every hero shared a deck. Now, each hero has their own individual deck with their own individual playstyle! Be on the lookout here for our individual hero writeups that will be coming out in advance of the BackerKit Launch.

Darkness used to happen on every hero’s turn. Now, each round has its own day/night cycle. Heroes move and act during the Day, Dusk triggers events, and Villains and Monsters make their move in the Dark!

Legends Edition upgrades the old Defenders of the Realm so that every hero takes their turn simultaneously. Plan the order of your actions with your team instead of being restricted to turn order!

Instead of the old Pandemic-style rules where enemies spawned based on a card deck, now minions spawn in based on how many actions players take during the Day cycle. Ration your moves carefully—taking out an army in one turn might result in another one popping into existence as the sun sets!

Two epic bosses now have their own “Tainted Land” rules, renamed to “Scourges.” More on those later when we talk about our big, epic bosses. 

Heroes are no longer reliant on action tokens to move and fight. Instead, each action you take during the Day increases the number of actions the monsters get at night.

There are plenty more goodies to come in terms of info on the game, the heroes, the bosses, and even the designer! And follow us on BackerKit to get updates as we reveal more about the game, and to be informed the moment the game goes live!