Dear Backer,
 
Wow, what a month! Melbourne International Games Week, PAX Australia & SXSW Sydney were incredible and thanks to friends and fans of V2S Games, ARC, Pony Dog Productions & Awakened Fables, The King’s Poisoner and its stage adaptation—The King’s Poisoner LIVE 🎭 —were both a big hit!!

Thanks to these wonderful events, hundreds of new people who’d never heard of The King’s Poisoner have now either played the game, or watched it being played or performed!

I’ve included the link to a sneak peek of the intro/trailer separately, as it’s exclusive to backers only. Hopefully I’ll have a video that’s publicly available for sharing soon!

With all the time and energy that’s gone into the preparation and production of the stage show and live events, progress on pre-production this month has been slower than anticipated. I had hoped to be able to make up for much of this over the last few days, but there are still several files that need updating, correction or revision. 

As a result, the Full Digital release will now be in November, with more details to follow asap. My apologies to all Friends of the Court and digital only backers, please know that I’m doing my utmost to get you the PDFs as quickly as possible.

Though production will now extend into January, I’m hopeful that the delivery ETA for both the Standard & Deluxe Edition boxed sets will remain unchanged and I'll be working with Panda GM (who have been great!) over the next couple of weeks to confirm the timeline.

I’ve extended the deadline so that everyone has a little more time to finalize their orders and take advantage of the crazy discounts. 

Remember, once orders are locked you won’t be able to make any changes or pick up extra copies or backer-only accessories for delivery as a part of this campaign.

If you’d like to know more about locking orders, please see the 2nd half of the last update for more details.

In addition to the video, here’s another sneak peek: the Threat Cards from the boxed set (both editions), which are used to help the king choose a threat to their kingdom that’s been occupying their attention—oh dear!

Also, rumor has it that a 🏆 King of King’s Poisoner tournament-style event is in the works, more info on that coming soon!  

There are still a few surveys yet to be completed. If you haven't completed your survey yet, please do so as soon as possible so that I can fulfill your rewards.

If you have any questions or run into any issues, please refer to the 2nd half of this update.

 🔔 Remember, If you need to review your information after your survey has been completed, you can return to it by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page. 

Thank you very much for your patience and support! I look forward to sharing more of The King’s Poisoner news & progress with you asap!

 

Best regards, 

Jonathan
V2S Games  

Dear Backer,
 
In light of the busy period that's now upon us, this update will be a little quicker than the last!

Pre-production continues to go well and is still expected to be complete by late October.

Preparation for the The King's Poisoner Live On Stage🎭 is in full swing with the cast meeting later this week.

Interest is already looking strong for sessions of The King’s Poisoner at PAX AUS at the Table🃏 —starting 11am everyday from Oct 11–13th (Fri–Sun) at MCEC—so be sure to get in early to book your seat at TTRPG HQ!

Time for another sneak peek: this time it’s the Motive Cards from the boxed set (both editions), which are used to provide each character with a motive for murdering the king, though they may choose to do otherwise—you’ll have to play to find out!

At the end of the month, I’ll be flicking the BackerKit switch to lock orders to finalize exact item counts in time for production and shipping. After orders are locked, you won’t be able to make any changes or select additional add-ons for fulfillment as part of this crowdfunding campaign. 

Prices available to you through your surveys are heavily discounted (in some cases over 30%) and are unlikely to be seen again! Some accessories may also be unavailable in the future except as part of the standard or deluxe edition boxed sets. So if you want to pick up extra copies or backer-only accessories at these low prices, this may be your last chance!

Don’t worry though, you still have a little over 3 weeks to make your final selections, and there will be a reminder sent 48 hours prior.

Once orders are locked, your credit card will be charged for any additional purchases that haven’t been paid for already. 

Addresses won't be locked and shipping won't be charged yet, that will be done closer to fulfillment to give more time for you to confirm your shipping details and for me to provide accurate pricing.

If you haven't completed your survey, please do so as soon as possible so that I can fulfill your rewards.

If you have any questions or run into any issues, please refer to the 2nd half of this update.

 🔔 Remember, If you need to review your information after your survey has been completed, you can return to it by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page. 
 

Thanks again for all your support! I look forward to seeing you at one of the exciting upcoming events and sharing all the news with you in the next update!

Best regards, 

Jonathan

V2S Games  

Dear Backer,

I hope this update finds you well!

 

The pre-production files are progressing steadily closer to completion, with everything on track to commence production and digital release mid-late October. 

The first samples are also expected in the coming weeks—I'm particularly excited for the Deluxe Edition Superior Crown!

Speaking of October…

I'm excited to announce that, in partnership with SXSW Sydney, a stage adaptation of The King's Poisoner is preparing to feature as a live performance at the international Game Showcase on Thursday, October 17th.

This will be part of the SXSW Sydney 2024 week-long festival, which follows almost immediately after Melbourne International Game Week (MIGW) & PAX Australia!

The King's Poisoner will also feature at PAX Australia! If you're in Melbourne from October 11–13th (Fri–Sun), come down to the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre (MCEC) and join us for up to 10 sessions (that's right!) of The King's Poisoner, thanks to Dale, Richard, John & the fantastic folks at the Australian Roleplay Community (ARC)!

 
In the meantime…

Here's a sneak peek at the Role Cards from the boxed set (both editions): these are used to create your character and determine their position in the king's court at the start of play.

You might be wondering about the additional text on the cards? Each role has a Unique Advantage, which is one of the Advanced rules detailed in The King's Poisoner's Survival Guide. This provides a special way for each character to secure an additional advantage during Act II: Plotting & Scheming and add more spice to the story.

There are still a few surveys that are incomplete or missing. If you haven't completed your survey yet, please do so as soon as possible so that I can fulfill your rewards.

 

If you have any questions or run into any issues, please refer to the 2nd half of this update.

 

 🔔 Remember, If you need to review your information after your survey has been completed, you can return to it by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page. 
 

My thanks again for your wonderful support—it continues to inspire me and I'm incredibly excited for a busy month ahead!

 

Looking forward to sharing more news with you in early October and best regards,

 

Jonathan

V2S Games  

Dear Backer,

I have exciting news!

 

In addition to preparing the pre-production files, I've been hard at work investigating alternate design options for The King's Poisoner Custom Playing Cards, as requested during the crowdfunding campaign. 

 

Playing cards that are suitable for every game of The King's Poisoner, no matter the  setting or time period, is both essential and a challenge.

 

After scouring other card games, tarot decks, print and wood block designs, I've arrived at alternative I think will not only make The King's Poisoner playing cards more unique and thematic, but will also enhance gameplay—perhaps even for other roleplaying games as well!

 

Not only does each card have a NEW DESIGN but each of the game's four themes (LOVE, LOYALTY, AMBITION & MURDER) has been allocated to a suit (hearts, diamonds, spades & clubs) to keep them front of mind during play.

 

In addition, each card has optional graphic and written prompts to inspire storytelling and act as a visual aid! 

 
Written prompts for other cards include: Allegiance, Beauty, Betrayal, Chaos, Compassion, Competition, Conflict, Corruption, Darkness, Dependence, Devotion, Discipline, Distress, Dream, Duty, Expansion, Exploitation, Exploration, Faith and more… 

 

The design is still sufficiently traditional so that the embellishments aren't too restrictive or obtrusive, allowing the game to flow as it should, and the deck can be used for any other game that requires standard playing card elements e.g. one-eyed jacks, suicide kings, man with the axe, flower queen etc.

 

Finally, the prompts for each of the Kings can also be used to inspire your game's setting & guide world building.  Simply separate them from the rest of the deck and draw a king at random to determine the type of setting in which you're going to play!

Meet the Four Kings

The King of Hearts, depicted as Charlemagne during the latter half of Henry VI's reign, is now also the king of fantasy with a dragon soaring above. A Targaryen, perhaps? Do you have a favourite monarch from the screen or literature? Rewrite their story or use it to inspire a new tale of love or betrayal!

 

The King of Diamonds, looking like Edward II but historically Julius Caesar, is also the king of the past with an hourglass evoking the passage of time or a bygone era. Set your story in any period throughout history or prehistory, from ice age tribal migrations to the chaos and strife surrounding the world wars! Draw from real world events to inform your narrative or provide a backdrop for your plotting & scheming.

 

The King of Clubs, once Alexander the Great, is also the king of the present with a globe of the world hanging over his shoulder. There are still a number of kings in the modern day and many leaders who act like them, which is fodder for compelling fiction and circumstances that are at once familiar and strange.

 

The King of Spades, traditionally the Judaean King David of biblical renown, is also king of the future with an android or artificial life form looming behind. What kind of kings, queens, autocrats or machines might rule in 10, 100 or 1000 years' time!

 

 

Please show your support for the new design in the poll attached below!

 

The King's Poisoner was played to stellar reviews and the online convention doubled its initial goal, raising over $2,800 for World Central Kitchen! 

 

If you missed out on Summer Knights, The King's Poisoner will also feature at:

 

Conquest Games Market, a one day event on August 31 designed to showcase local game developers, vendors, suppliers, makers, and artists to the Melbourne Tabletop and Roleplaying gaming community.

 

 The Shared Hearth, an online open gaming weekend held by Open Hearth Gaming from September 5–8th. Sign-ups open 12pm EDT, August 20. 

 

 

We're getting ever closer to completion! 92% of backers have filled out their surveys and contributed an additional $788 to the campaign!

 

If you haven't completed it yet, please do so as soon as possible as I need this information to fulfill your rewards.

 

If you have any questions or run into any issues, you should find everything you need in the 2nd half of this update.

 

 🔔 Remember, If you need to review your information after your survey has been completed, you can return to it by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page.  

 

Thank you again for all your support and please let me know what you think of the new design in the poll attached below.

 

Looking forward to sharing more developments at the end of the month and best regards,

 

Jonathan

V2S Games