Shipping is not included in your pledge and will need to be added after the conclusion of the campaign. We will provide you with full instructions at the end, through the pledge manager.

International rewards will be shipped to fulfilment centres in the UK and USA, so there will be no VAT, tax or import charges of any kind to the UK, EU or USA. We’ll handle all that!

We’re still finalising the exact shipping costs but to give you a rough idea here are a couple of preliminary estimates:

● Medium sized pledge (LAUNCELOT level): AUD$28 (equivalent to USD $20 or GBP £14) to ship to the USA or UK.

● Large sized pledge (THE ENGINE): AUD$40 (equivalent to USD $28 or GBP £19) to ship to the USA or UK.

● Extra large sized pledge (THE ENGINE + lots of Add-ons): AUD$50 (equivalent to USD $35 or GBP £25) to ship to the USA or UK.

These estimates might increase if you add a lot of Add-ons to your core pledge. The MDF terrain is quite heavy and is the main thing driving up shipping costs, but we are doing our best to find the most economical and reliable solution possible.

The final shipping cost is subject to change, and will be based on your location and specific rewards.

 -Loki- wrote:
I am very tempted, however, to go for backer + deluxe terrain pack, as I want the terrain for Malifaux and that looks like plenty to fill a 3'x3'. What sort of discount is that pack over expected retail? Or is it pretty much just bundling it together as an advance order?

 .Mikes. wrote:
Tree words: Steampunk Vinnie Jones.

 Twisted wrote:

 -Loki- wrote:
I am very tempted, however, to go for backer + deluxe terrain pack, as I want the terrain for Malifaux and that looks like plenty to fill a 3'x3'. What sort of discount is that pack over expected retail? Or is it pretty much just bundling it together as an advance order?

The miniatures in the Kickstarter have a very healthy discount - somewhere between 12-20% off RRP depending on the combination of pledge. The terrain doesn't have quite so much of a discount because it's a special situation, in that CNC Miniature Scenery are the company technically 'producing' the terrain. This means that we don't have the same sort of margins to play with, and can't quite offer the same sort of discount. However, we are able to make up for that through the shipping! Because we'll be shipping all of our stuff in bulk lots, it means you'll effectively get quite a significant discount on the terrain if bought through the Kickstarter because the shipping cost will be a LOT less than usual! I hope that makes sense - it sounds a bit confusing but I hope you understand what I mean

 kestral wrote:
Although, the savings are considerable compared to their web pages, where figs go for $20 each.

 .Mikes. wrote:

 kestral wrote:
Although, the savings are considerable compared to their web pages, where figs go for $20 each.

If I'm remembering correctly the minis on their website are some kind of super dooper resin and are mroe collectors peices than the metal ones being funded in the KS, and so may get cheaper after the KS. If someone else knows better feel free to correct me.

 .Mikes. wrote:

 kestral wrote:
Although, the savings are considerable compared to their web pages, where figs go for $20 each.

If I'm remembering correctly the minis on their website are some kind of super dooper resin and are mroe collectors peices than the metal ones being funded in the KS, and so may get cheaper after the KS. If someone else knows better feel free to correct me.

Update #12

Feb 19 2016
An in-depth look at the Dragoon and Flower Seller
5 Comments
13 likes

Thanks so much for all your wonderful comments and support so far! It’s so exciting to be able to launch Twisted in such a positive way, we’re really thrilled. The more funding we receive in this campaign, the more we’re able to expand the world of Twisted and add to the miniatures and terrain available. That’s the direct, tangible result of your pledges!

We’d like to give you a closer look at two of the brand new characters for Twisted that have been unveiled in this Kickstarter campaign: the Urkin Dragoon, and the Gentlefolk Flower Seller.

The Urkin Dragoon is a special fast attack character for the Dickensians faction, to bring extra speed and flexibility to your faction. The Dragoon miniature is part of the Dickensians Expansion Faction Box, or individually in resin.

This wonderful concept was developed in conjunction with the artist Macs Gallo. We took our inspiration for the design from the real uniforms of mounted Dragoons from the Victorian era – but as an urkin character, we had to put our own Twisted spin on things, of course! So Peter came up with the idea to have the Dragoon riding a child’s hobby horse.



Stéphane Camosseto has done an incredible job with the Dragoon sculpt, and has captured the character perfectly! It’s a really fun concept and the whimsical nature of the character has translated to the miniature very well. Check out all the tiny details: the steampunk horse head, the little decorative swirls on the helmet and sleeves, the long tails on the coat...Stéphane has created a really marvellous addition to the Twisted range of miniatures!



The Gentlefolk Flower Seller brings a softer feminine side to the Servants of the Engine – but of course every rose has its thorn, and the Flower Seller brings some very interesting special abilities to support the Servants faction! She is available in the Servants Expansion Faction Box, or individually in resin.

The beautiful concept art was developed by Owen Aurelio, a very talented artist who has contributed a lot to Twisted over the past two years and deserves special thanks. The Flower Seller has quite an unusual, non-combative pose for a miniature: it’s quite an emotionally appealing pose, we think. The intricate flower-petal inspired costuming was something we were very keen to develop as a motif carried throughout the miniature.



Twisted’s own Sebastian Archer took on the job of sculpting the Gentlefolk Flower Seller miniature! It’s a tricky task trying to achieve the sculpted appearance of the soft flower petals that make up the Flower Seller’s dress – especially at 32mm scale – but Sebastian has captured the spirit of the concept perfectly. Little details on the mechanical arms and the tiny bird feeding from the flower in her outstretched hand make this miniature a really interesting and unique one, and another beautiful addition to Twisted!



Sebastian also painted up a quick version of the Flower Seller which we think shows off the flower petal motif even better!

Mutter wrote:
Why do lasercut-card inlays cost TWICE as much as detailed resin bases? O.o
And at a Kickstarter (therefor discounted, one assumes)!

Update #13

Feb 20 2016
The Engine - The Power Behind Twisted
0 Comments
4 likes



The Engine is a mysterious, ancient entity that attempts to control and influence the world of Twisted. Some scholars posit that it has always been; others suggest it is the creation of a civilisation that ruled the world many aeons ago.

One thing is sure, however: the Engine has power to effect great change in the world. It has an intellect both selfish and capricious. Its designs are difficult to discern: at times the Engine can appear to favour those who work against it, only to reveal an overarching plan which sees them fall to ruin at a later date.

Knowledge of the Engine remained lost for millennia, until a musty tome in the Great Library of London was discovered alluding to a hidden power. Scholars raced to uncover a series of linked texts revealing the mysteries of Alchemancy – a kind of steampunk magic that draws on the latent power of the Engine itself to invoke strange and powerful effects.

The latest discovery is the existence of the Engine Nodes: secret access points to the Engine’s power hidden beneath major cities and landmarks throughout the world, used by the Engine to spread its influence. Now competing factions rush to discover and exploit the power of these hidden Nodes!

Feygin and the Dickensians stumbled across one of these Nodes buried deep beneath the sewers of London. Their attempt to abuse the Node caused an explosion of raw Engine power which wrought great and ruinous changes among the Dickensians, their bodies and minds warping into steampunk form. But more importantly, it alerted the Engine to the fact that it has been discovered!

The Engine has now summoned its Servants in an attempt to prevent further intrusion into its secrets. But what it could not foresee is that the influence of the Node has brought the Dickensians great power and influence of their own...





The Engine plays an integral part in the game of Twisted. This is one of the features that makes Twisted unique – a force that neither player has full control over yet it has an influence on how events play out on the tabletop!

In Twisted, the Engine is represented by two different game mechanics: the Favour of the Engine, and the Eye of the Engine/Tempt Fate cards.

These give life to the Engine in Twisted and show it taking an active role in shaping the way things play out in the world it wishes to create.

The Favour of the Engine is useful yet fickle, and can be lost at any moment if not managed carefully. The Eye of the Engine cards are drawn at the start of each turn and can be played to aid in your objectives or confound your foes.

Tempting Fate is risky and can be done at various opportunities during the turn. It can bring you a great boost if the Engine deems so, but if you attract the wrong kind of attention from the Engine it can end poorly!

Favour of the Engine

The Favour of the Engine is held by one Company or another when playing Twisted. It shows which of the competing Companies is currently viewed by the Engine as best suiting its needs. The Company that currently holds the Favour of the Engine gains a number of advantages:

The Engine's Blessing: The player may re-roll any one dice roll during the turn, The results of the second roll must be taken, however. Do not fail the Engine, should you seek to use its Favour!

The Engine's Aid: The player with the Favour of the Engine gets to draw an additional Eye of the Engine card at the start of each turn and choose which of the two cards to keep. An advantage that should not be taken lightly!

The Engine's Intervention: Any situations which result in a tied roll between the players are resolved in the favour of the Company that holds the Favour of the Engine. This can affect Close Combat where an Attack Roll and Defence Roll may be equal, or the Priority rules which decide which Company acts first in a turn.

The Favour of the Engine is unpredictable however, and is liable to change at any moment! There are a number of ways you can fall out of Favour with the Engine...

Failed Re-roll: Should you choose to re-roll a dice and the result is worse than your first roll, or if the re-roll results in you still failing in the task in hand, the Favour of the Engine immediately swaps to your opponent.

Tempting Fate once too often!: If you Tempt Fate and draw a card with a red Engine Eyecon on it (see details below) you immediately lose the Favour of the Engine to your opponent.

The Eye is Elsewhere: Any time this Eye of the Engine card is played by your opponent, they immediately gain the Favour of the Engine and any Eye of the Engine card you may have played is nullified!

The Eye of the Engine card deck



These cards are manifestations of the will of the Engine in games of Twisted.

At the start of each turn 1 card is drawn by each Company and may be played during the turn. The Company which holds the Favour of the Engine may draw 2 cards and choose which to keep.

The Eye of the Engine card shows details about the effect and gives the phase of the turn in which it is played. Some cards are played at the start of the turn before Characters activate, some are played as Characters activate, and a few are played at the end of the turn in the Maintenance Phase. Cards that are played during the Activation Phase normally affect the Character that caused them to be played, unless otherwise noted.

You can see an Eye is Elsewhere card above. This is listed as ‘Special’ next to its phase in that it can be played immediately in response to an opponent's card, or at any time during the turn.

The effects caused by an Eye of The Engine card are also shown and these come into play immediately. They supersede all other rules of Twisted – the will of The Engine is indomitable!
With your help through this Kickstarter this deck has now been upgraded, increasing to 40 cards!

A well played Eye of The Engine card can greatly bolster your chances of success in a mission, or make your opponent's life much more difficult!

Tempting Fate

All Characters in Twisted are somehow closely linked to the Engine. They either serve it directly, or seek its power and have knowledge of its presence. The Engine has great interest in your Character’s deeds and their actions feature prominently in its plans.

Tempting Fate represents the Character attempting to attract the attention of the Engine deliberately – quite a gamble! The Engine, being capricious, inscrutable and oft-times malicious, cannot be guaranteed to favour those who attract its gaze. Sometimes you fit into its plans – and sometimes you don’t! If you’re lucky then the Engine may assist you greatly, but woe betide those for whom it currently has no use.

At the bottom of each Eye of the Engine card is a different effect, listed under the Tempt Fate heading.

A Character may Tempt Fate at any time when they are involved in the turn. For example, you may Tempt Fate during your activation, when you are attacked by an opponent’s Character, or affected by an Alchemantic Invocation - as long as the Character is somehow involved in the turn at that point in the game they may Tempt Fate.

When you want to Tempt Fate, simply draw the top card from the deck of Eye of The Engine cards and its Tempt Fate effects come into play immediately. You should take care when Tempting Fate if you currently hold the Favour of the Engine!

Remember, if you draw a card that has a red Eyecon on it you will immediately lose the Favour of The Engine to your opponent!

Hopefully that gives you an idea of how one of the key mechanics of Twisted works! Stay tuned for more rules examples to come in future updates!

 Nostromodamus wrote:
I really like the Engine rules. Very quirky!

Vinnie just got unlocked too, but no updated SG list yet, I think they are probably asleep right now!

 -Loki- wrote:
Can't comment on the price, they do seem a tad pricey for laser cut card, ...

Mutter wrote:

 -Loki- wrote:
Can't comment on the price, they do seem a tad pricey for laser cut card, ...

Yeah, but even still, without a KS-discount, it's insanely expensive.

 -Loki- wrote:

Again - it's not their kickstarter. The terrain is by another company altogether.

Mutter wrote:
Look at what (really elaborate and good-looking) resin bases cost, and compare that to the price of card-inlays.

Mutter wrote:
Again - this isn't about it being a KS. Did you read what I wrote?
I'd be flabbergasted by that price in a normal shop, too.

Look at what (really elaborate and good-looking) resin bases cost, and compare that to the price of card-inlays.
Sorry ...

 Nostromodamus wrote:
Also a free Tinkerbelle at $95k!

Demented Games is knocking it out of the park with this one. Bloody amazing characters and world on offer here, and from what we've heard of the gameplay (more coming soon) it sounds very interesting to play as well.

Update #16

Feb 22 2016
The Gamekeeper Takes Shape!
1 Comment
7 likes

Thanks to your fantastic support we’ve been able to schedule a bunch of new Characters for sculpting!

We thought you might like to see some of the sculpting work currently in progress for Twisted. Production is well underway for the remaining miniatures in the Faction Box sets: Stéphane Camosseto is currently working on the Gentlefolk Gamekeeper, David Ayral (Anakron) is in the process of sculpting the Gentlefolk Teacher, and Sebastian Archer himself has already started work on the Gentlefolk Lancer!

We’ll start with the Gentlefolk Gamekeeper. First, here’s a shot of the final concept artwork developed by Macs Gallo. Peter came up with the original idea for the Gamekeeper and did some initial sketching, and then after 4 or 5 draft stages we came up with this final concept artwork. Another brilliant, fun Character for Twisted!


Now let’s take a look at the sculpting progress on the Gamekeeper miniature, being hand-sculpted by the very talented Stéphane Camosseto.

The first image below shows the early stages of sculpting work for the Gamekeeper: you can see the wire armature Stéphane has created to build around. Then in the image on the right, you can see the early progress as the rough forms of the miniature have been filled out.

This next image shows the Gamekeeper at a more advanced stage in the sculpting process – he is currently around ¾ complete. It’s really starting to take shape: look at the amazing filigree details Stéphane has added to the legs, the sharpness of the face and other details – it’s going to be another amazing miniature when it’s finished!


Next update we will focus more on the rules for Twisted. We'll be starting with an overview of the turn sequence and discussing the Character Activation system! Stay tuned!

 Alpharius wrote:
$716US for a mini painted by Sebastian Archer (I'll admit I don't know who he is).

 Alpharius wrote:
for a mini painted by Sebastian Archer (I'll admit I don't know who he is).

 Alpharius wrote:
Seems like an odd thing to get upset about,

-Loki- wrote:

 Alpharius wrote:
for a mini painted by Sebastian Archer (I'll admit I don't know who he is).

Sebastian Archer is one of the co creators of the game and one of the sculptors. He's also a great painter, and I assume the one that paints the studio minis.

SC is right though - $1000au is pretty steep for a single 35mm model.

.Mikes. wrote:

 Alpharius wrote:
Seems like an odd thing to get upset about,

Welcome to the internet!

 Alpharius wrote:

-Loki- wrote:

 Alpharius wrote:
for a mini painted by Sebastian Archer (I'll admit I don't know who he is).

Sebastian Archer is one of the co creators of the game and one of the sculptors. He's also a great painter, and I assume the one that paints the studio minis.

SC is right though - $1000au is pretty steep for a single 35mm model.

It certainly is, but so are a lot of other expensive things I can't afford!

 -Loki- wrote:
looking at the market rate[...] the price is absurd. But people have found worth int it since two people have taken it, so more power to them.

 Alpharius wrote:
Excellent update on turn structure here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1884748152/twisted-a-steampunk-miniatures-game/posts/1499475

I'm liking that!

 -Loki- wrote:
Sounds a lot like Malifaux, just swapping drawing a hand for drawing Engine cards and deciding the entire lists activation order in advance but unknown to the other player.

 Alpharius wrote:
I thought Malifaux was 'diceless'?

Twisted isn't, is it?

I'm...confused?

 spiralingcadaver wrote:

 -Loki- wrote:
looking at the market rate[...] the price is absurd. But people have found worth int it since two people have taken it, so more power to them.

My old home town's gotten known for $5 toast, and in new york there's a trend of $10-ish for a cup of soup broth... separating idiots from their money just frustrates me, not because of the idiots losing their money, but those taking it exploiting their idiocy...

 jah-joshua wrote:
should all artists have to take day jobs to survive, because art should be cheap???

 spiralingcadaver wrote:

 jah-joshua wrote:
should all artists have to take day jobs to survive, because art should be cheap???

I'm about the last person you'd hear that from, I just find those prices completely unreasonable.

 Alpharius wrote:
Interesting!

Is the 4th Faction the mercenary one?

Update #18

Feb 24 2016
Twisted Terrain - A closer look at The Old Corner Shop!

At Demented Games we realised early on in development that interesting Terrain would help enhance the gameplay of Twisted a great deal.

We set out to find just the right people to help us an we were lucky enough to be able to partner with the awesome guys at CNC Workshop to produce some absolutely stunning laser cut MDF buildings that will really make your Twisted table stand out!

In this update we'll take a closer look at the structure we call “The Old Corner Shop”. Please bear in mind this is a painted example of the first test cut we did so some improvements to certain areas have been made since this version!

The Old Corner Shop shown in these images also uses the optional add on Roof Tiles. See our Add-ons section of the main page for more details.

Front View


Here you can see a pretty much dead on front shot of the Shop. Gretel and the Urkin are having some kind of disagreement (apparently about Cake) whilst those inside keep an eye on proceedings from above!

The wee Steampunk camera is a simply stunning use of laser cut card and shows of the kind of cunning devil that Craig from CNC workshop is – such detail and finesse from a flat sheet of card! The Old Corner Shop is quite a large building – something you may not have picked up well from the renders we have shown previously and it is brimming with Art Nouveau style sweeping shapes and obscure steampunk devices (what DOES that machine on the wall do exactly!).

The Alley Balcony



You can see as we turn the building that a small balcony is attached by a doorway in the side of the Shop. This will comfortably hold a miniature, even a couple of them! This structure need not be glued in place – it will stay put on its own and this is useful as The Old Corner Shop has been designed in such as way that more than one of them can be butted up to form a larger building or the archway can be popped between two of them.



The door's height also matches that of the Walkways we have designed! We are aiming to keep some consistency in the dimensions of our terrain so Walkways always meet doors and buildings will fit together in a cohesive table where stuff just works!

You will also note that the Urkin has made a rather risky climb and now perches high up on a ledge, awaiting the opportunity to dive down and do 'orrible things to a passer by! Although The Old Cake Shop doesn't have a useable interior it has plenty of levels and perches for your Characters to get around on, fight from and, if you are unlucky, fall off!

The "Other" Side



This is the plainer side of the building. There are some really cool little details here but this side is fairly simple. We hope to be able to offer you some sheets of Steampunk and Twisted style details that you can use to personalise this kind of flat area should you wish. Some posters or other details would also make this wall come to life! Craig's excellent weathered paint effect does a cracking job though and we think it looks just fine as it is!



Here's a view that shows the roof. You can have your Characters clamber up there and fire down on their foes! The chimney isn't locked into any particular position so you can move it about, change it for a different one or even leave it off if you fancy!

That's it for now. More pics and details to come soon!

For more information on the other awesome creations of CNC Workshop check out their website: https://www.miniaturescenery.com/index.asp you can also find them on Facebook!

Update #19

Feb 25 2016
Concept Development - The Guardians of Set



With the Egyptian Expansion getting close to unlocking we thought you might appreciate a bit more of a detailed look at the work that went into the development of the foot soldiers of the Faction – the Guardians of Set.

The first stage in the development of a Character in Twisted starts with an idea of what we want to achieve. I the case of the Guardians of Set we wanted basic troops to fill a Company that kept the character and feel of Ancient Egypt yet could be rooted in our alternate 19th Century world.

We settled on the idea of Bedouin workers from Carter's archaeological dig, twisted by the influence of the uncovered node of The Engine. These workers now worship the Avatar of Set and have taken to wearing masks that indicate their fealty to this dark and dangerous being.

Once we have the idea down Peter does a quick sketch (or a series of them) so we have a visual guide and can better define what we want to the concept artist. This makes the process much smoother as the artist already has a starting point from which to work.



We also source reference pics – these are usually fairly general but each one will contain elements we like and wish to see translated into the Characters. On top of that we will provide a written brief that gives the artist an idea of how the miniatures are intended to play in the game and some key points we want to see in the drawings.



From this point we await the first pass of sketches. In this case we decided to focus on the heads initially as the Set like masks would really define the character of these miniatures.

The talented Nicolas Amoroso was given the job to design the Guardians of Set and his first sketch, whilst really cool, had strayed a little into the monstrous! We had initially told him that some Guardians would be humans in masks and some would have been warped into Set like beasts so although he had followed our instructions he'd gone just a whisker too far.



Although this direction was a bit off it was very useful in that it defined to us that masks were a better way to proceed. We redirected Nicolas and his next sketch was perfect! Just what we wanted!



Having absolutely nailed the heads Nicolas proceeded to explore some variations in weaponry and pose. Here's an example of one of the sheets of sketches we were sent.



The feel of the Guardians is really starting to take shape here! We are starting to get the poses down and you can really begin to see what the miniatures might look like. There is already the mix of static and very dynamic poses that we went with in the end. We felt mixing the two really gave the group as a whole lots of character and it allowed us to explore some interesting design options.

The Bows didn't make it past this stage. We'd firmed up how we wanted the Guardians to run in a game of Twisted and we had decided to use two base profiles for them, one more Close Combat oriented and one focusing on Ranged Combat. It's a similar pattern to the Urkin but each kind of Guardian is a better all-rounder than the small demented lads!

From these base sketches we selected 6 for development further and they then go through several stages that better define the exact look we want, each sketch building on the last.

Here are two of the final concepts for the Guardians of Set. You will note that one includes the Hound of Set – an awesome little add-on that Nicolas came up with that has now become its very own miniature! This is an example of the concept artist being creative and coming up with absolutely brilliant ideas that we can then run with.





That's it for this update. More to come as the campaign progresses!

We hope this short update gave you a better idea on how we go about developing Characters and Concepts for Twisted! It is an absolute pleasure to be showing these off to everyone and, with your fantastic support, we can go on producing many more lovely miniatures for you!

Update #20

Feb 25 2016
Twisted in Figure Painter Magazine!

The excellent folk at Figure Painter Magazine have done a company profile on Demented Games in Issue 34!



It includes a brand new sneak peek at the WIP sculpt of Set! - never before seen (apart from by us of course)!

We love Figure Painter Magazine - it is a fantastic resource for painters, gamers and hobbyists alike!

Check out the latest issue here:
http://www.figurepaintermagazine.co.uk/

Grab all the back issues if you haven't seen them - it's absolutely the best value you will find!

Update #21

Feb 26 2016
Friday night news!

Hello to all our wonderful backers!

I know I've said this lots but thank you so much for your support! Sebastian and I and really proud and humbled that you all like our project enough to invest your hard earned money into it!

Today has been a very cool day on the Twisted front with brand new concept art coming in from Owen Aurelio! Owen is working on one of the two "hidden" Characters for the Egyptian Expansion and I will be able to tell (and show) you lots more about that tomorrow!. This new art is being developed as a direct result of your support so, in as much as this is our project, it is now officially yours as well!

He is also working on art for our next Stretch Goal so that is something to look forward to as well!

I have a big weekend! Updates to write, video shoots for Dungeon Fodder and demo games at Gatekeeper Games here in Melbourne on Sunday (from 5pm to whenever we finish!)

Here are some links!

Dungeon Fodder (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr2yKfOyDqcW8zMSzT0db5Q)

Gatekeeper games (http://www.gatekeepergames.com/)

If any of our Melbourne backers want to call by and say hi I'd be more than happy to shake your hand and run you through a game of Twisted!

Having got past all that I thought you might like to see the very first piece of art that was done for Twisted!



This was done the day after our initial meeting when we decided that the creation of Twisted was to be our goal. I flew home from Sydney, bought a brand new sketch pad and got to work!

This sketch is the very first iteration of Feygin. You can see that although he went through some changes, in essence, the miniature we ended up creating was very much in keeping with the first drawing that was ever done for Twisted!

This sketch, and many more like it, will feature in the electronic art book that comes in the Pledges of Launcelot level and above! We have created lots of really brilliant stuff (if we do say so ourselves) and we can't wait to show you just how much effort and work has gone into getting Twisted into the fantastic position we are in now!

Again - thank you all so much!

You have made it all worthwhile!

Cheers
Peter

Update #22

Feb 26 2016
Character Design Focus - Indie



As the Egyptian Expansion is so close we have started work on the concept art for the two missing Characters from that set. Your incredible support is allowing all of this new work to happen!

This material is literally only days old! The newest sketches are shown here hours after that have been submitted for our review! We will keep posting updates on Indie as the concept art develops – you will be able to track along with us and see a Twisted Character come to life!

First up we have begun to develop Indie into her final form with the help of our most excellent artist Owen Aurelio. She's a rough and tumble Character, full of energy with a quick wit and a certain rugged charm, yet more than able to take care of herself should push come to shove!

First up here is my initial sketch. This is what the silhouette in the Stretch Goal is based on. This was only a very quick drawing so please excuse the slightly funky anatomy!



As we closed on the Stretch Goal I briefed Owen quickly on what we wanted. Owen has been working on Twisted now for over 2 years so he knows what we like and it was a really loose brief! His first sketches show the pose that the miniature is likely to end up in. None of this is final yet – the pose might evolve but this is the starting point and we are pretty happy with it.



From here we being to develop the details. You can see how Owen has taken the rough draft and pushed the Egyptian feel to be closer to the rest of the range. He has changed her coat slightly to be more like the character that inspired her. You can also see a canopic jar illustrated that will hand at her waist (along with the iconic satchel which has yet to be added).



There is a reason most of the Characters in our Egyptian Range carry canopic jars! The Engine node that Carter discovered was considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians and they placed hundreds of mummies and canopic jars around to to be blessed by its power in the afterlife.

The canopic jars and mummies became infused with the power of The Engine and have developed a kind of sentience and a close link to The Engine. They now have the ability to bond with a host, melding the personality of that host with that of the ancient Egyptian the jar represents. The eternal life they were promised has become a reality!

I hope you enjoyed this update. As Owen submits more art I'll keep showing it off. This way you can see exactly the process we go through to bring you the fantastic Twisted range of miniatures.

Cheers
Pete

Update #23

Feb 27 2016
Rules Update - Combat in Twisted!



The Urkin peered over the railing of the staircase. Below him, in the dank square, stood the armoured form of Launcelot. He motioned to his companion who slipped through the railings and dropped to the wet cobblestones below.

Both lads knew this would be a challenge that could result in a short and bloody end for them but if they could manage to take down the knight then wouldn’t Bill be pleased!

Quietly they prepared their weapons, such as they were, and positioned themselves to attack!

This update is designed to show you some of the combat mechanics of Twisted and give you a much better idea of how the game plays. We’ll cover movement to some extent, Ranged Combat and Close Combat. You will also see how the Eye of The Engine cards interact with the Characters during the turn.

We start with two Urkin facing off against Launcelot. This is a most uneven fight with the Urkin being 25 points in total against Launcelot’s 49 points. If they can manage to beat him (and in Twisted it is always a possibility) it would be a marvellous effort indeed!

The skirmish starts with the Urkin holding Priority and the Favour of The Engine (see the previous updates). The Favour of The Engine allows them to draw two Eye of The Engine cards and choose which to keep. They draw Leaden Feet which would slow Launcelot down and Might of The Engine that makes one of them stronger. They decide to keep Might of The Engine as the range at which the fight is occurring means that slowing Launcelot down won’t help too much and they are really keen to kill him if they can!



Launcelot draws It’s not your time which can heal him. As he doesn’t have Favour of The Engine he only gets to draw the one card. Luckily for him it may prove handy!

The Urkin sort their Activation Cards (see previous update - The Turn Structure of Twisted), deciding that the Shooter should go first. Launcelot is likely to want to get into Close Combat as quickly as he can and firing into Close Combat is tricky so the Shooter wants to get his shots in first!

The Urkin loads a round into his ramshackle gun and takes aim. He has two Actions and has decided to use both of them in shooting at the heavily armoured knight.

Combat in Twisted is resolved by an Opposed Roll between the foes. Each rolls a 20 sided dice and adds the relevant Attack and Defence modifiers (see the "A Look at a Character Card from Twisted" Update). The highest number is successful - remember in the case of a tie the player with the Favour of The Engine will be considered the winner!

The Urkin’s first shot is shown below:



Taken by surprise Launcelot fails to dodge quickly enough and the shot hits home but is deflected by the his heavy armour. In a panic, and wondering if his gun is powerful enough, the Urkin quickly loads again and fires once more...



This time the shot misses, whether Launcelot was fast enough to avoid the whizzing bullet or whether, in his panic the Urkin simply missed is unknown!

Launcelot now Activates and Charges the Urkin Slasher in front of him He will deal with the somewhat annoying attentions of the Shooter later. He moves into contact and brings his long, lethal blade to bear...

Charging, which is a double move Action, gives Launcelot +1 to hit and damage for this round of Close Combat but causes his Defence to be at -1 until the Maintenance Phase of the turn. A Charge move must be a straight line - you can't run (which is a normal pair of move actions that can include corners) and engage in Close Combat.

Knowing that his chances are slim the Urkin decides to Tempt Fate and is lucky enough to draw “Body of Iron”. This increases his armour by +3 for this round of Combat and will certainly help him survive! Additionally this card has a green Eyecon on it so the Urkin keep the Favour of The Engine for the moment.



The Urkin tried, as best he could, to defend himself but the skill of the knight proved too great and the blade bit deeply, even with the aid of The Engine the Urkin very nearly ends up in the Wounded state.

When a Character is Twisted reaches the wounds marked in red on their card they become Wounded and all their statistics, with the exception of Armour, drop by 2 until they are either healed or taken out of action.

Causing at least 1 wound to a foe also gains Launcelot 1 priority counter which will go towards determining who will act first next turn.

In addition Launcelot’s sword is extremely sharp and can cause Characters he wounds to begin to Bleed. This means that they lose 2 more wounds in the Maintenance Phase of each turn. The check to avoid this is a Finesse Check at 10 plus the damage dealt.

The Urkin Rolls a 15 plus his Finesse of 3 for a total of 18, passes the check and is alright although quite seriously bloodied.

Having survived the Urkin then has his options limited. He can either stay and fight or try and Disengage. He decides to stay and try to hurt Launcelot, bringing his heavy axe down hard!

The Eye of The Engine card - The Engine's Might is played on the Slasher as he Activates. This increases his Strength by 3 for the remainder of the turn!



Remarkably he lands a blow and manages to find a weak spot in Launcelot’s steel coat, wounding the knight! This gives him 1 Priority counter too and ends the Activation Phase.

Launcelot still holds the "It's Not Your Time" Eye of The Engine card but as that card can only be played when you Activate he is unable to heal himself.

In the Maintenance Phase both Companies add up their Priority Counters to see who will have Priority the next turn. In this case each Company has 1 counter, as this is a draw it is resolved in the favour of the Urkin who hold the Favour of The Engine.

All Eye of The Engine Cards return to the deck and a new turn begins with drawing fresh ones!



The Urkin again draw two as they still hold the Favour of The Engine. This time they keep Deadly Destiny which turns all hits for one Activating Character into Critical Hits! Fantastic against the heavily armoured knight.

Launcelot draws The Eye is Elsewhere - a very handy card indeed as it cancels your opponent's Eye of The Engine card and changes the Favour of The Engine to you!

A Critical hit is normally a roll of 20 on the 20 sided dice when attacking. Your opponent cannot Defend against the hit and their Armour is halved against the damage done. In Close Combat these hits also have the possibility to stun your foe!

Again the Shooter Activates first. The Slasher is stuck in Close Combat so the Shooter needs to go first so he can engage before Launcelot kills the Slasher! He Could shoot into combat but it’s at -4 if he wants to avoid any chance of hitting his ally!

As he Activates the Deadly Destiny card is played on him. Launcelot’s player immediately counters by playing The Eye is Elsewhere. The cancels out Deadly Destiny and switches the Favour of The Engine to Launcelot!

He moves down the stairs and attacks Launcelot from the rear! Having done this Launcelot is now Outnumbered as there are more Urkin in the fight than he has allies. He is also Flanked as the Urkin are directly opposite one another. In addition the Shooter gains an extra +1 to hit for this round of Combat only for attacking from the back!



The Shooter tries his best but at the last moment loses his grip on his knife and the blade slides off the knight’s back!

The two rolls ended up a draw - as Launcelot has just received the Favour of The Engine the draw is resolved in as a win for him so the Urkin misses!

Taking a firm grip on his blade and ignoring the Urkin Shooter again, Launcelot attacks the bloodied Slasher.



The Urkin throws up a feeble defence and the knight’s razor sharp blade sends the foul creature slumping to the cobblestones with a groan. This gains Launcelot 3 Priority Counters for taking a foe out of action!

Launcelot has a Special Ability called Determined. When he takes an opponent out of action he may immediately make an extra attack against an adjacent foe.

Turning around Launcelot draws back his sword and attacks the Shooter...



It’s a Critical hit and the Shooter is despatched in one quick (and rather messy) strike! The battle is over with Launcelot a touch battered but now in possession of an impressive 6 Priority Counters!

He’d be in a great position to go first next turn if any foes still survived!

Launcelot sheathed his sword and regarded the small corpses arrayed at his feet. As his mind cleared from the influence of The Engine he had a pang of regret. These were no more than children. They deserved a better death than this - no he thought - they deserved a better life...

He turned and walked away. More determined than ever to find Bill Psyches and put an end to his particularly foetid form of evil.

I hope this gave you a good idea of how Combat works in Twisted! If you have any questions please feel free to ask them below!

The next rules update will cover Alchemancy - the magic system of Twisted!

Cheers
Pete

Update #24

Feb 27 2016
Monkey Magic!

A slight change to the Monkey King Stretch Goal



Hi all!

We have had LOTS of you fine Backers wanting to ensure you get a copy of the Resin Monkey King. We expected him to be popular but not quite this popular - so a huge thank you!

To help alleviate this problem we have decided, after much deliberation, to remove the limitation of 250 copies and make him purely a Kickstarter Exclusive!
He will be sold in Resin only through the Kickstarter. We will produce to order and then no more resins will be made.

He will be available later as a general release in metal however.

Cheers
Pete & Sebastian

Update #25

Feb 28 2016

Bases and Busyness!


Hi all!

I picked up a set from of the laser cut bases from Craig at CNC Workshop the other day and finally got around to taking a decent photo!

Here they are in all their glory!



Don't they look fantastic painted up! I'm a big fan of the depth he has managed to work into them and they will look fantastic with a mini on top! Look at the way he has cunningly cut the cobblestones so they look uneven and natural - I tell you the man is a genius!

Here is a link to their site again:

https://www.miniaturescenery.com/index.asp

If you haven't checked it out yet I encourage you to do so!

On a separate note I spent this evening out at Gatekeeper Games running Demo games of Twisted! I was blown away by the positive reactions to both the miniatures and the rules and it was fantastic to be able to meet some of our Backers in person!

Here's a quick shot I took of the demo table. You can see #42 Carver Lane, The Old Corner Shop and the two Walkway kits being used alongside the terrain I hand built for Cancon (a local Aussie convention 2 years ago).



The play mat is the normal 3' x 3' area for Twisted but I didn't fill it as I was only running a small, short game to show off the mechanics.

Hope you all have had as good a weekend as I have had!

Cheers
Pete

Update #26

Feb 29 2016

Twisted Tales - The Beginning

Hi Everyone!

I thought you might like to read one of the backstories we have developed in support of Twisted. These short tales serve to illustrate the personality of our Characters and go towards building a more immersive experience for our players and collectors!

Read on and experience the rich world we are creating for you!



“This is...it?”

Bill Psyches glanced at Feygin menacingly, hefting his cudgel with the implicit menace of a painful reproach.

“Yes, Bill my darling, this is the device — the Engine Node, if you will.” The decrepit pickpocket crept back a pace, just beyond Bill’s reach. “The book I pilfered says it ‘as great power. Imagine what we could do with such power, Bill... just imagine it!”

Behind Feygin, Oliver, Dodger and the lads chattered excitedly, keen to explore the uncharted tunnels down which their old teacher had lead them. Beside them Nancy, thoughtful as ever, kept a careful eye on Oliver. The lad was delicate, without the stomach for Feygin’s shady endeavours, let alone the more visceral work in which Bill delighted.

“But ’ow does it work, you old fool?”

Feygin’s small manipulator arms twitched nervously. The mechanical harness had been very handy: the arms were stronger, faster than his own, responding deftly to his slightest thought. He was almost the skilful cutpurse he’d been in his youth. When he’d found the strange harness and the tome he somehow knew his life would never be the same. And now he hoped desperately that he’d read the instructions properly and that the change would be for the better.

“It’s this knob ‘ere, Bill!” Feygin indicated a large filigreed dial surrounded by intricate markings. “I’m sure it’s just a matter of getting a good ‘ead of steam up an’ ‘aving a fiddle.”

“If this don’t work, Feygin, I’ll be givin’ you a bloody good fiddle.” Bill moved closer to the Node, peering suspiciously at its arcane markings. At a nod from Feygin, Dodger moved to the boiler and shut the furnace door. He released the main valve and a steady rising note emanated from the assembly. The room started rattling as pipes and valves began opening and closing. With a hiss and a sputter, a small green light blinked to life on what Feygin took to be the main control panel. The old man approached the machine and, for a chilling moment, had the feeling the contraption was... watching him.

“It’s just a machine,” he told himself, but he couldn’t shake the uneasy sense of silent vigilance. With a hand that shook a little more than the pickpocket was accustomed to, Feygin reached for the dial he hoped was the control. “Gawd — let me be right”, he thought. “Bill will ‘ave me ‘ide if I’m wrong.”

But before he could touch the control his mechanical arms of the harness took on a life of their own, turning dials and pushing buttons faster than Feygin could follow. The chamber filled with an indescribable noise as the Node seemed to grow and fill the room, and yet simultaneously — somehow — remain precisely the size it had started. Feygin staggered back, diving behind a brickwork bastion as rays streamed from hidden portals around the chamber, great slashes of piercing light cutting through the shadows.



Abruptly silence and darkness returned to the room, broken only by a sputtering lantern Dodger had dropped in the chaos. Feygin tentatively emerged from his hiding place, stepping over his fallen lads to recover the lamp. He held it up and surveyed the room, the narrow yellow beam falling on a familiar face — that of young Oliver.

“Yer alive, me boy! Thank ‘eavens!” Feygin exclaimed. But the words died in his mouth as his relief turned to horror. What had once been Oliver — meek, delicate Oliver — reared itself up on two huge arms, roaring an inhuman cry. The mild young boy had been transfigured, transformed, into… Ollyver, a misshapen terror which now stormed towards Feygin with murderous rage!

The old man stumbled backwards, madly scrambling over the wet stone. He noticed, almost idly, that one of his manipulator arms waved a hitherto unknown knife at the thundering Ollyver, almost of its own volition. But Feygin had no time to muse over whence the knife had come, as the berserk monstrosity leaped, smashing aside stone and iron pipework in its fury.

Just as he closed his eyes, expecting a swift, bloody demise, there came a great shout. A monstrous cudgel crashed into Ollyver’s chest, knocking him into the far wall. “’e’s not dying ‘less I kill ‘im!” hissed Bill, his voice lower, even more diabolical, than it had been before. He stalked across the chamber in two great strides of what appeared to be metal, hoofed legs. Bill had been dangerous before: now he looked like an incarnation of the devil himself.

Feygin knew something had gone wrong. Terribly wrong.

All around Feygin the lads were recovering from the blast. But they were different, somehow... twisted. “Nancy,” Feygin thought. “Nancy’ll know what to do.” His old eyes found her form slowly rising from a darkened recess. A metallic tentacle made a chilling sound as it rasped in a gentle, almost loving, caress across a fallen lad’s face...but only cold emanated from the shadows. Feygin’s eyes widened in fear as her sinister new form was revealed by the lantern’s light.

“Nancy....!”

Update #27

Feb 29 2016

Tinker Unlocked!

Tinkerbelle Unlocked


Hi to all our illustrious backers!

Tinker is now officially unlocked. We know we aren't exactly there but we are so close and you guys have all been really patient and supportive so we thought we would just give you all this little freebie a whisker early as a small token of our appreciation!

Now the push to that Egyptian Expansion and beyond! You guys have all been awesome so far - continue to spread the word as much as you can so we can bring you more wonderful stuff from the world of Twisted!

Cheers
- Sebastian and Pete

Update #28

Mar 1 2016

Twisted Terrain - The Twisted Staircase & Walkway





Hi all!

Here is today's update and we'll focus on the Twisted Walkways.

These fantastic MDF kits make some extremely characterful walkways to add to your table when playing Twisted! Remember Characters in Twisted can jump, climb and fall so the more levels and interesting areas your table has the more options the game opens up!

You can also leap into Close Combat if you are above a foe! This gives you an added bonus for the first round of fighting but if you fail to land safely you may end up in a very precarious position indeed - lying prone at your opponent's feet!



Here's a shot of the two of the kits together. As you cans see the steps have been designed so a miniature's base can hook between them if the basing is relatively flat. There is around 1-2mm play in the gap.

If you prefer more impressive basing then simply use the stair steppers we have designed to support your miniatures on the appropriate step.



The Walkway



The Walkway is a fairly good size piece at 150mm long and 80mm to the deck of the upper layer. To the top of the sunshade (which doubles as handy cover to ranged attacks from above) it is around 160mm. The deck of the Walkway is 45mm wide so a miniature on a 40mm base will fit comfortably along it.

What we like most about this piece is the way Craig from CNC Workshop has linked it to the other buildings in our range with the intricate Art Nouveau curves combined with the more traditional Steampunk motifs.

The Steps



The Steps are a lovely add-on for the Walkways and really add an extra element of interest to your games. We've already seen some wonderful fights occur in and around these at the demo days we have run recently! They match the dimensions of the Walkway precisely and also can be butted up against our other terrain where Craig has cleverly kept the key dimensions the same so everything matches perfectly!

You can build the steps with the lower flight facing, left, right or straight ahead to add even more variety to your board. Once again the Staircase also features the same unique design as the rest of the buildings in Twisted.

Remember these are available in the Terrain Pack add-ons or as part of Pledge Levels Ollyver, Tesla, Nouveau and The Engine.

To see more of CNC Workshop's excellent products check out their website:

https://www.miniaturescenery.com/

We are working away on more cool Terrain options so keep an eye out for more updates to come!

- Sebastian and Peter

 Piston Honda wrote:
Have the rules changed a lot from the beta rules a year ago?

Update #29

Mar 2 2016
Concept Development - The Avatar of Set



Hi all,

As we close in on the Egyptian Expansion we thought you might like to see how the deadly and impressive Avatar of Set was developed.

This update will give you a better idea of the kind of process we go through to develop the Characters and Miniatures that go to making up the world of Twisted!

As per usual we begin with an idea. We wanted Set to be large and imposing – a true beast of a miniature, full of threat and intensity.

Peter first did a quick sketch just for firm up some of our ideas and help guide the concept artists. In the initial version Set is quite metallic and hard edged with a huge sentient canopic jar forming his torso.



After pondering this for a while we decided that the basic direction was good and we passed it on firstly to Owen Aurelio who did a slew of development sketches that helped us to design the Faction as a whole and give us a basis of forms and ideas on which to work.



Included in these first batch of drawings was Owen's idea of the Avatar. It was super cool!



We particularly liked the leg treatment on his right leg and there were some beautiful shapes in the concept. It was around this point, as we began to close on the Kickstarter that we needed to get a move on with the work on the Egyptians so they were very nearly all concepted for the campaign. We still didn't quite make two of them but, as you know Indigo Ford is well underway and nearing completion and Horace is up next!

In light of the pace needed we decided to leave Owen on the side of the Faction that represented Carter and his associates and pass off the Guardians of Set and Set himself to Nicholas Amoroso. This seemed a natural split as the two sides of the Faction would end up with slightly different feels yet be close enough, and share a common ancestry, so they gelled as a group.

Nicholas set to work (see what we did there...) and came back with a sheet of pose ideas. By this stage the Guardians had been designed and it seemed only natural that Set should take cues from them so he looked like the figure they worshiped!



After choosing a pose and a few more development sketches we ended up with this stunning piece of concept art!



The final concept was just what we wanted – full of details and looking really glorious and imposing. The canopic jar from the very first sketch survived, albeit moved to his back, and the melding together of a Steampunk aesthetic with a real ancient Egyptian feel is just fantastic! The reference to the pose you often see Pharaohs in with the crook and flail was Nicholas' idea and we loved it!

Having settled on a concept it was now time to find a suitably talented sculptor to handle one of the cornerstone pieces in the Egyptian range. Valentin Zac, one of the world's finest sculptors, was available and we jumped at the opportunity to get him on the job!

Below you can see two of his work in progress shots and we are sure that you will agree this is going to be a superb addition to the Twisted range!




He has captured the pose beautifully and the musculature on the smaller arms is simply stunning! From the front you can see what a grand piece this will be on the table or simply painted up and placed in your cabinet!

In case you didn't see this in Figure Painter Magazine it was featured in Issue 24 along with a Company Profile on Demented Games that you might find interesting reading!



Check it out by following the link below:

http://www.figurepaintermagazine.co.uk/

- Sebastian and Pete

Update #30

Mar 2 2016
Terrain Housekeeping

Requested Images

Hi all,

We have had a couple of particular images requested recently.

Jean-Paul wanted to see the Ultimate Terrain Pack on a 3' x 3' board. You can see it below. The terrain is probably a little sparse for a really good game. Ideally you should aim to cover about half the available table area in terrain with some different levels if you can. If you add a some bits and pieces of scatter terrain along with some smaller buildings in to this mix you will be able to have a more than satisfying game though!



Of course other configurations of layout are possible using Ultimate Terrain Pack as the two Old Corner Shops and the Archway could be used separately from one another and the steps and walkways could be separated.



Craig at CNC is currently working on some smaller buildings that will be fantastic table fillers and cheaper than either of the current options. I will add images of those when we have them!

Speaking of Craig's work here is the latest creation! It's a set of fencing that can be used to block routes across the table and makes excellent cover for your Characters! Also attached to it you can see one of the WIP signs we are doing. The intention is to do a sheet full of signs and we are tossing up whether to engrave the names on them or offer a downloadable sheet of signs you can print out and glue on yourselves.



Neither of these have been test cut yet so I don't have a definite price on them yet but as soon as I have more info it will be given to you!

Much earlier in the campaign we had a request for a shot of #42 Carver Lane "au natural" - sorry - I can't remember who asked. I dug about my archives and could only find one that was the current version. You'll have to excuse my shady photoshop work (and the mess!)



It actually looks kind of cool without paint I think :-)

Hope that helps!

Cheers
Pete

Update #31

Mar 2 2016
The Egyptians Unlock!

Thank You!

With your support both the Egyptian Sets have now unlocked and they are available for selection as the "Faction Box" sets in the main Pledge levels.

These fantastic sets form the basis of the third Faction for Twisted. The Egyptians - an interesting mix of Characters someseeking knowledge and some seeking power!

Please be aware though that there is lots of sculpting work to happen with these sets yet so they, in all likelihood, won't ship with the main Pledges. We will work on them as quickly as we can but if you want to get playing fast you'll need to choose a Dickensians or Servants of The Engine set as they are both just about ready to go into production.




We can't express enough how appreciative we are of your support! This is amazing and, as the name suggests, this has given the world of Twisted a real Kickstart!

We have so many plans for the future of Twisted and you all have assured that these ideas, and many more, will come to fruition. We are amazed and humbled by your generosity and kind backing.

Along with the Egyptian sets becoming Faction Boxes this has also allowed us to release the Egyptians as Resin Add-on minis. These are the highest quality we can produce and are a wonderful canvas for painters and collectors alike.

You can now add these to your Pledges. As we said earlier please bear in mind these will probably form a second wave delivery as much of the sculpting is yet to be done.



Again - thank you for your amazing support!

- Sebastian & Peter

Update #32

Mar 3 2016
Character Design Focus - "Indie" Part 2



Hi all,

Here is the second part of the design process on the Egyptian Character Indigo Ford (known to her friends as Indie).

After getting the costume basically finished in the last update - barring a few tinkers here an there Owen moved on to the pistol that Indigo wields. We wanted a simple pistol yet one that looked like it packed a real punch!

Here's what Owen came back with:



a was a bit simple yet it had some really cool details. c was also mighty impressive but perhaps a bit to 'florid' and fancy so it rather clashed with the tough and no-nonsense feel we wanted for Indigo.

In the end we selected b. It has many of the details of a but the heavy underbarrel piece and short scope give it a real impression that this is a gun that will so serious damage should a shot hit home!

Whilst working on the Pistol Owen also tackled Indigo's whip



a was a fantastic idea - right out of left field! The concept of having the whip made of small scarab like shapes was brilliant! The problem we foresaw was managing to successfully translate this intricate design into a 32mm miniature and still have it 'readable'. The linked scarabs might also make the whip weak and prone to breakage in a rough and tumble wargaming environment.

We decided that a simple leather style whip with a nice Egyptian style tip would be the way to go - a simple, workmanlike whip also fitted better with the vision we have for Indigo's personality! She doesn't mess about when things get tough!

Owen also sketched a number of beautiful handles for the whip. All of them are excellent and that decision may end up being made at sculpting when we see how the mini comes together and whether a bit more detail or a bit less detail is needed to make the miniature shine.

Having completed all that was necessary to go on and finish the concept Owen started on the final, posed concept. Here you can see a work in progress sketch.



The final concept will be in full glorious colour and will also feature a leather satchel!

Indigo is shaping up to be a truly excellent addition to the Twisted range and one that Owen should be justly proud of!

She is available in metal as part of the Egyptian Expansion box or as a Resin add-on to your pledge!

The final concept will be shown to you all soon!

We hope you enjoyed looking at Owen's beautiful work.

- Sebastian and Peter

Creator Demented Games about 2 hours ago

@ Peter - The Altanteans probably won't make much an appearance in the kickstarter unfortunately. They are the next faction to be developed but we don't have enough done to to be able to say too much about them at this point.
We want to focus on getting the Egyptians Sculpted and while that is happening we'll start on the concept process for the Atlanteans. Of course we will keep all you good folk in the loop as it happens!
Everyone's amazing support through this Kickstarter will allow work to begin on them much more quickly than they otherwise would have though!
HR puff n stuff is on my "Notepad O' Nifty Backer Ideas" and we will have a think about that post KS!

 Alpharius wrote:
I know, right?

I want both box sets for all 3 factions, plus every add-on mini.

And all the terrain - but with enough to really fill a 3' x 3' table.

Ouch.

 drazz wrote:
Do you know what might be the best part of this KS? Not the super dogwood models (of which I already have a few), not the great communication, not the good amount of already prepared material. Nope.

It's the very minor discount on the early birds. No one is complaining about missing out.

Update #33

Mar 4 2016

Next Stretch Goal Up!

Bastion the Crab & Ariel




The Guild of Harmony is bolstered by the addition of Bastion the Crab and Ariel.

Bastion is a Crab full of bad attitude and a penchant for clipping small appendages off people with his newfound brass claw!

Bastion is a resin Kickstater Exclusive Minitaure and will not be available outside of this campaign!

Ariel is a pure delight to be with until you annoy her then you find that she is not so much an Angel Fish as a Tiger Shark. Woe betide you if you cause any harm to her friend and companion Bastion the Crab!

Her harpoon gun fires deadly long barbed shafts that can pip opposing Characters to terrain elements! Be very careful where you stand when Ariel is angry with you!

Ariel is a Metal Miniature and is not Kickstarter Exclusive. She will be available as an Add-on soon and in our store post Kickstarter.

Cheers
- Sebastian and Pete

Update #34

Mar 4 2016
Who might this be...

Here's something to keep you guessing!

The image below is a tinkered with version of a brand new concept for a Guild of Harmony Character that will be coming to Twisted soon!

Can you guess who it might be?



I'm evil aren't I...

Cheers

Pete

 -Loki- wrote:
Really, really love that Ariel model. Very tempted to jump in at a Urkin level to get access to add ons to grab her. I mean I could grab her later but, well, I am impatient. Plus I can grab the Monkey King and Vinny.

 Mr Morden wrote:
I already have the ariel model - she is beautiful

Might need to takwe another look at this kickstarter

Alpharius about 10 hours ago

Has the Monkey King in metal been confirmed...or denied...yet?

Creator Demented Games about 10 hours ago

@ Alpharius - Yes - he will be available in Metal but post Kickstarter as a general release.

Update #35

Mar 5 2016
Production Update - Casting the Metals

Metal Miniature Production at Eureka



Peter and I have been working really hard at Twisted HQ to set up a good reliable chain of production for pledge rewards, and we wanted to give you an insight into our metal production partner for the miniatures.

Twisted’s metal casting is being handled by Eureka Miniatures here in Australia, one of the best professional metal casters in the world with decades of experience. We went to visit the head of Eureka – Nic Robson – at the Eureka workroom, and you can see him in the photos below preparing production moulds for our metal miniatures.



Each production mould is hand-made by Nic, using his vast experience and hands-on knowledge to make sure we get the best quality metal miniature casts possible for Twisted. We have a great working relationship with Nic and have known him personally for years, so we have a simple, effective and professional chain of production in place, ready and able to fulfil your Kickstarter pledge rewards.



This green low temperature mould is used to make masters from the resin copies of the orginal sculpts. The normal black vulcanised moulds each only hold one or two kinds of miniatures - this one has Ollyver, Nancy, Nightingale and Nouveau on it! Once Nic casts the masters they are sent back to us for checking and final cleanup prior to making the production mould.

The metal miniatures produced by Eureka are of the highest quality – I don’t think I’ve seen better metal miniatures. I have been using Eureka as the metal caster for the Guild of Harmony range for almost 8 years, and have regularly received fantastic feedback concerning the quality of the figures. So this great standard of quality will be carried through to the metal miniatures for Twisted.

Below you can see a comparison shot of a metal Eureka production cast of Nouveau, next to a resin version of the same figure. On the right of image both of these miniatures have been primed with grey undercoat spray, and you can see how close the metal comes to matching the resin in terms of detail, sharpness and overall quality!

You can click on the images for higher resolution versions.





Production of your Pledge miniatures has begun with the first actual production spins of the moulds due to happen this week!

You can also check out Eureka's own range of miniatures on their site:

http://www.eurekamin.com.au/

Update #36

Mar 6 2016

Sunday Night Miscellany

Hi all,

What a busy weekend! I spent Friday night running demo games at Mind Games here in Melbourne.

Saturday I went and caught up with Nic at Eureka Miniatures to get the first batch of metal minis for the Faction Boxes underway. It's great to be able to make a start on production even before the Kickstarter ends!

Today I spent the afternoon running more Demo Games at House of War! I must say the reaction of the players to the game has been very positive and that is really rewarding! It's lovely to see people enjoying the game you have designed!

Owen sent through the final version of Bastion the Crab today:



How cool does he look now! I love the claw and the small details on the helmet. This little guy will be a really great little miniature I think!

Craig from CNC Workshop has also been busy finalising the design for the fences and doing more work on a new building.



These new, smaller buildings (seen here next to #42), will be made to be cheap so you can fill your table with them, using #42 Carver Lane and the Old Corner Shop as centrepiece terrain elements. This one isn't finished yet and needs more windows and doors and generally cool bits.

The Fences got a bit taller and they will be great for helping define areas of your board when you play. Once the designs are finalised Craig will do a test cut to work out how much these will cost and we'll then be able to let you know!

Have a lovely Sunday (or Sunday night depending on where you are!)

Cheers
Pete

 Whumbachumba wrote:
I'm liking the model designs. Curious as to their scale compared to Malifaux models though. Many of them would make great proxies.

 Whumbachumba wrote:
I'm liking the model designs. Curious as to their scale compared to Malifaux models though. Many of them would make great proxies.

Update #37

Mar 7 2016
Egyptian Work In Progress



Hi all,

Here's another update on the work that's going into the Egyptian Faction at the moment!
Inidgo Ford – Final Concept

First up here is the final concept art for Indigo Ford!



Doesn't she look brilliant in glorious colour! As is ever the way some small things will change at the sculpt stage as we see how the art translates into a physical miniature. Owen has done a cracking job and I'm sure she will be a fantastic addition to our range.
More work on Set

The extremely talented Valentin Zak has sent through some new WIP shots of Set. My goodness – what a piece he will be when complete! Even at this stage you can see the brilliant musculature and fine detail he has worked into the piece



Look at that loin cloth – the work on the Egyptian style jewelry there is just stunning.



The legs of Set are brimming with detail and style – he is truly worthy of his status as a true centrepiece of the Twisted range!



The back of Set shows off the lovely, delicate work Valentin has put into the folds of Set's Shendyt (what the Egyptians called those kilt things so I believe) He has captured the volume and feel of the cloth perfectly. The muscles on his back will be a joy to paint – I can tell that even now.



As you can tell I'm a bit excited by the way Set is coming along and I hope you will be too!

Owen has now started on the concept work for Horace de Havilland – the last of the Egyptians that currently need developing. So stay tuned for more on him in the coming days.

After Horace is done it might be time to explore some of the other ideas we have for the Egyptians... Your astounding support through this Kickstarter has allowed us to expand the scope of Twisted so the game is growing even now thanks to you all!

Cheers

Pete

 -Loki- wrote:

 Whumbachumba wrote:
I'm liking the model designs. Curious as to their scale compared to Malifaux models though. Many of them would make great proxies.

I've got Malifaux and Twisted models on my desk right now. They're the same scale. As insaniak said, Malifaux models are a bit more stylised, and being plastic they don't have the detail, but they're the same scale. However, I see Nancy as a frequent proxy for Anna Lovelace from Shifting Loyalties, because her mechanical tentacled dress fits with Annas Clockwork dress. And Anna has a poisoned knife, and Nancy has a knife. And because Nancy is a gorgeous model and why not use it?

Personally I'm planning on using Nancy as a proxy for Jacob Lynch, because I really just don't like his model. I also have Nightingale but she won't be hitting the table as I have the resin, and her wings are super duper fragile.

Update #38

Mar 8 2016

The Gamekeeper - more work done!

The Gamekeeper is very close to completion!

We only received these new shots a few days ago and we are so pleased with the work Stéphane Camosseto has done on the Gamekeeper!



There are some amazing details being worked into this miniature - just look at that filigree and the fine work Stéphane has done on his hands.



The rear view shows more of the fantastic filigree and you can see some of the work that has gone into making his legs look elegant yet practical. Stéphane has really captured the pose perfectly!



We are particularly taken with his delicate deer like hooves and the fine detailing work that shows the internal gears and whatnot in his legs.



Slung off his baldric you can see the spare shells for his gun. He has one held in his hand - ready to load.





Here you can see his backpack. It fits in those three indentations in his back. There is a little more work to go here yet - more game and traps to be added and other small details. We are sure you will find this miniature a joy to paint - every detail is there for you!

These are WIP photos so some minor details might change yet but he's really close! We are looking forward to seeing what Stéphane can do with the next Character for Twisted!

- Sebastian and Peter

Update #39

Mar 9 2016
Character Design Focus - Horace de Havilland



Hi all,

For today's update we will focus on the design of the next Character for the Egyptian Faction - the foppish and slightly cowardly Horace de Havilland! Some of these drawings are only hours old! You, our esteemed backers, are amongst the first in the world to see them!

Once again Owen Aurelio is doing some sterling work on this Character. As usual we started with the idea of an English nobleman, the son of a Lord who has always had his way paid for him and has ended up whiling away his days on Carter's Egyptian dig dirnking local liquor and spending inordinate amounts of time with local ladies.

I drew a quick sketch of what we wanted Horace to look like so Owen had something to work from. We wanted that real 19thC gentleman feel combined with Egyptian elements and a strange, steampunk mechanical hawk!



Owen took the starting sketch and began by developing his clothing and general design first. We wanted the shapes of his clothes to reflect the kind of shapes that were common in ancient Egypt and also to reflect the shapes that exist in a bird's feathers and wings.

Here is his first batch of drawings.



There is quite a military feel to some of these and we kind of liked that. D was our favourite though!



By the second pass we had discarded concept F and focused on the other two. At this stage we were undecided and wanted to see how each developed before making a firm decision.



This design won out and we developed it further. Opening up the sleeve "slits" and refining the way the Canopic Jar, common to all the Egyptian Characters sat. We really like the way his pauldron piece reflects the design of the Pharaoh crowns of ancient Egypt!



Having decided on the clothing Owen moved onto the pose for Horace. He has a real feel of haughty derision and looks absolutely the part for a noble fop, far too proud for his own good!

We are pushing ahead with pose A. The arm is slightly lower and the overall feel is just a bit nicer.



From here we start to develop Horace's pistol. We wanted a long jezzail like gun that we imagine Horace has purchased (with his father's money) from the finest gunsmith in Cairo! More work remains on this element so look our for the next update for that!

It is likely at this stage that Horace will come with both the pointing hand and a holstered gun and a hand that is holding the pistol. We aren't 100% certain on that but it is the plan at the moment.

More updates to come as Owen sends more sketches through!

Cheers
Pete

Update #40

Mar 9 2016
Only 1 Week to go!

Thanks to all our Backers!

A huge thank you from both of us at Demented Games for your absolutely amazing support! We couldn't have hoped for a better result and, with you alongside us, Twisted will grow and expand into an amazing range of miniatures and a game we are sure you will all love!

As we head into the last week of the Campaign we want to take a moment to tell you that we really do appreciate the faith and trust you have put in us! You are all fantastic and we are so very grateful to each and every one of you!

- Sebastian and Pete

(P.S. Feel free to share this image with all and sundry! )

Update #41

Mar 10 2016

Shirke Unlocked and Pigsty Arrives!

Hi all!

We broke through the $110,000 barrier today! Thanks to you all again for Pledging to support our project!

This has unlocked Shrike to add to your Dickensians Company.



Shrike is fast and dangerous with a long reach from his wicked rat spear! He is unusual for an Urkin in that he has some staying power on the tabletop and can cause real problems for those unprepared for his sudden strikes!

Along with Shirke we are also pleased to announce the arrival on the scene of Pigsty!



This chap is rather hard to finish off on the tabletop! He is tough to wound and has a devastating, albeit short ranged attack thanks to his rake cannon! The Kickstarter Exclusive Resin miniature will be sure to be a real collectors item!
He will be come later as a general release in Metal.

Along with the Monkey King and all the other members of the Guild of Harmony he can be taken as part of a Company composed only of Guild of Harmony Characters or he can be selected to fight alongside your Dickensians, Servants of The Engine or Egyptians!

Once again thank you all for your support of Twisted!

- Sebastian and Pete

Update #42

Mar 11 2016
Character Design Focus - Agatha & Hercule



Hi all!

Here is another in our series of Character design updates. This time we focus on Agatha and Hercule from the Egyptian Faction.

As usual we start the process by deciding which characters we want to design. Given we were in Egypt Agatha Christie seemed an obvious choice. Not only did she spend some time in Egypt but she wrote a rather famous book based there!

Here's a picture of her actually in Egypt!



We really liked the slightly posh look of her amongst the locals and we decided that was the angle to pursue! As usual I did a quick sketch just to drive the work of the concept artist.



We passed her on to the inestimable Owen Aurelio again - he has become rather our 'specialst' for the Egyptian Characters from Carter's side of the Faction.

The first two sketches we got back were quite a surprise. We do allow all our artists a measure of creativity. There is no point in employing a creative and allowing them no room to explore some options!





They were both really cool but neither really hit the mark so we redirected Owen back to our original sketch. Having said that the backpack idea was a winner and we were keen to keep that!

Owen's next pair of drawings were much closer to our vision. The large hat that is so distinctive in the reference image is back and the prim and proper 'lady' (with an enormous Elephant Gun) spirit is well and truly captured



Both had their merits but we decided that A was really what we were after. We really wanted that feel of a lady who brooks no nonsense!



This next iteration is very close to completion! We explored the large gun and made her a bit older. With some final adjustments we arrived at the brilliant concept that is Agatha!



You can see the way Owen has caught the character of Agatha from the reference photo and managed to make her look both a bit stern and quite tough at the same time!

It's always interesting to see what carries from sketch to sketch. Look, for instance, at the decoration on her hat and you can see how it slowly came together over a few versions.

Hercule - Agatha's small robotic companion and servant was a much shorter process.

Owen started with this sketch that was quite close to my original.



There were some really nice details in there but Sebastian and I both felt that the spring waist would be far to difficult to carry into a miniature.

The next version of Heercule was nailed by Owen and we proceeded straight to the final concept.



This one we loved. It captured everything we wanted and was a perfect match to the casual elegance of Agatha! It also captures so much of what makes the character of Hercule stand out - I particularly like his moustache and eyebrows for some reason!

As with all these concept drawings please bear in mind the miniature might be slightly different in some ways. There are certain things that work well in a sketch that don't translate into the miniature and some things that will just cause production issues like mould tearing.

We want to ensure you get the absolute best miniatures we can produce every time so making sure the Character will cast well as reliably as possible is vital! Be assured though that we will always stick as closely as we can to the concept!

I hope you enjoyed this update. I have some more planned for over the last weekend of the campaign so keep an eye out!

Cheers
Pete

Update #43

Mar 11 2016
Rules Update - Alchemancy





Nancy moved quickly towards the darkened alley. She knew the Servants of The Engine were abroad and that time was short if she were to escape a fight for which she was not prepared.

She stepped into the darkness, her iron tentacles whispering quietly over the wet cobblestones

Suddenly, out of the shadows emerged the tall, elegant form of Launcelot, his long blade leveled and ready. Nancy reacted quickly, snatching a small, dark globe from her belt.

With a word she threw the delicate glass bauble and it struck the knight full in the chest, shattering and releasing the Elemental Essences enclosed within.

In an instant Launcelot staggered, his senses reeling as the Alchemantic Invocation took hold of him. Nancy took her opportunity, slipping past the knight as he slumped against the wall of the alley.

“That was too close” she thought. Her investigations into the Node were not yet complete and, once they were even the mighty Launcelot would prove no obstacle to her rise – let alone that fool Psyches...

Alchemancy is the system of Magic used in Twisted. It relies on the Alchemancer's use of Elemental Essences to harness the latent power of The Engine to bring forth great and sometimes devastating effects. Whilst these Invocations can be powerful they are not without risk and sometimes things can go terribly wrong!

There are 40 Alchemantic Invocation cards in the Alchemancy Deck that comes with the boxed rules. These are divided into four Schools of Alchemancy:



Fire: Alchemancers who have this School are able to cause great destruction and on the counter it allows the Alchemancer to make others more powerful by enhancing their abilities.

Earth: Proponents of the Earth School are said to have power of life and death. They can also call forth beings from Elemental Regions beyond the reality of the Twisted World.

Air: Typically the Air based Alchemancer works to protect others, sometimes at his or her own expense. They are also known for being able to travel where others cannot, flying, passing through walls or moving at great speed.

Water: These Alchemancers specialise in Healing and can take the most seriously wounded person from Death’s very doorstep. They also have the ability to weaken and confound their foes. The phrase “gone to water” has never been quite so appropriate...

Some Alchemancers can draw on all four Schools. Some only have one or two areas of specialty however.

Not all Characters in Twisted can call Alchemantic Invocations. Any Character with an Alchemancy (Alc) bonus of 0 can never call an Invocation unless it's via an Eye of The Engine or Tempt Fate card.

Shown below is an image of two Character cards, Nancy and Nouveau. Both have Alchemantic ability but Nancy is much more powerful.



Nancy’s Alchemancy Bonus is higher than Nouveau’s (7 v 4) and she has many more Essences to start the game. What this means in game terms is that Nancy will generally start with a wider selection of Alchemantic Invocations (or more powerful ones) and that she will have a better chance of success when calling them into being.

The Essences are represented by a series of small boxes next to the name of the Schools each Alchemancer possesses. Essences can take the form of small vials of liquid or gas, small crystals or even intricate metal containers that glow with the powers of the Elements trapped within.

These Essences are used up when generating Alchemical Effects and may be replenished when the Alchemancer recovers from his or her efforts. The more Essences a Character starts the game with the more Invocations they can call before running low and needing to recover.

An Alchemancer starts the game with a number of Invocations that you preselect from the Alchemancy Deck before the game. These may not be changed once the game has commenced under normal circumstances. Each Alchemancer can take Invocations who's Power rating adds up to 1.5 times his or her Alchemancy Bonus (rounded up). Nancy has an Alchemancy Bonus of 7 – she may therefore take Invocations that add up to 11 Power.

Her selection for a game might look like this:



On each card you will see a few statistics for the Invocation and some notes about its effect.

Name: What the Effect is commonly called by Alchemancers.

School Symbol: To which School of Alchemancy it is tied most strongly.. Some Invocations or other effects can enhance or protect against certain Schools of Alchemancy in general. For example a “Hades Amulet” gives an Alchemancer a bonus to call “Fire” Invocations.

Power: This is the value used when selecting which Alchemantic Invocations to take at the start of each game. An Alchemancer can select Invocations up to 1.5 times his or her Alchemancy bonus in Power (rounded up) so Nancy can take Invocations that add up to 11 Power (7 x 1.5 = 10.5 rounded up to 11)

Action: How many actions the Invocation uses up. Most Invocations are a single Action. They can be called multiple times in a turn given sufficient Essences. Some of the more powerful ones use 2 Actions to Call. An Alchemancer can use two Actions to call a single Action Invocation, this is called a “focused Invocation” and they get +4 on their Alchemancy bonus to successfully call the effect into being.

Difficulty: How difficult the Invocation is to bring into being. This number is the target the Alchemancer must achieve on a D20 plus Alchemancy Bonus roll. If he or she passes this roll then the number of Essences used are marked off the Character’s card. If the roll fails half the number of Essences required (rounded down to a minimum of 1).

Breaking: For Invocations that have a duration this is the number that needs to be achieved by the target of the Invocation and the relevant bonus to be applied in order to end the effect of the Invocation. This occurs in the Maintenance Phase of the Turn.

Elements: Which Essences are required and how many of each are consumed to generate the Invocation. When an Alchemancer begins to run low on Essences he or she may spend a single Action to regenerate half the Essences used so far (rounded up) or 2 Actions to regenerate all of them. The Alchemancer may choose which Essences he or she regenerates.

Nancy has called Fire Burst and Bolster over previous turns and so has used 3 Fire Essences, 2 Air Essences and 1 Water Essence. As she has used 6 Essences she can restore 3 of them. She may choose to restore all 3 Fire Essences, all the Water and Air Essences or 1 of each kind. It is up to her. Which element you choose affects what Alchemical Invocations you will be able to generate next turn so think carefully!

Range: How far away from the Alchemancer the Invocation may be called into being. This range is in inches. Some Invocations require the Alchemancer to touch the target and may only be used in Close Combat.

Area: Details the area affected by the Invocation. For Invocations that have a template Characters that are partially under the template can try and make Finesse Check to leap clear and avoid the area. You don’t want to be trapped in a corner though...

Invocation that have an area marked "Personal" affect only the target on which they are called.

Duration: How long the Invocation lasts not including the turn in which it is called.

Effect: What the Alchemical Invocation actually does.

Backfire: What happens if you fail your Alchemancy Check badly. When you roll a 1 on your Alchemancy Check the Invocation goes badly wrong! These effects are applied immediately. In addition this will attract The Engine’s attention so a Tempt Fate draw occurs immediately for the Alchemancer who tried to call the Invocation.

Nancy wants to call “Fire Burst” during her Activation to scorch a couple of impertinent Servants of The Engine.



Nancy is successful and the small 2” Template is placed at any point she wishes within range of the Invocation.

She has sufficient Essences to call it one more time before she might need to pause and regenerate more of them. Alternatively she could just use another Invocation that she still has Essences for!

Alchemancers in Twisted are quite powerful Characters when used wisely as they can buff or heal your own Characters or weaken and damage your foes! Take care with them though as they tend to be quite weak in Combat and things can go very poorly for them should they get engaged by a tough opponent.

This isn’t always true however, Nouveau, as shown above is a bit of an all-rounder he can fight and shoot rather well and has reasonable Alchemantic abilities too! Having said that he is expensive to field in your Company and this can bring its own set of problems...

I hope you enjoyed this update! Here’s to the last few days of the Campaign and thanks again for your support of Twisted!

Cheers

Pete

Update #44

Mar 12 2016

The Madness of Craig...


Craig - our Scenery designer has a strange, and slightly disturbing habit, of coming up with all sorts of random ideas for Twisted. These are a few of them...

Please Note: These are very rough ideas - some may make it into production - some may not but in all cases they will be developed further if we proceed!



This big fellow is an idea Craig had for a Dickensians "big guy". We like it a great deal and it is now in our thinking for the future... We can see him stomping across your tabletop, flinging iron sewer lids at his foes...

Bobbies




These little chaps might form a low points cost option for the Servants of The Engine! Now you can see where Dodger might have gotten his wheel!

Bolivar




Anyone read any Harry Harrison lately? :-) A possible member of the Guild of Harmony!

Did anyone say Hammer Horror?

Sewer Golem



A classic reimagined for Twisted! This might fit with a Faction we have in mind for the future...

As I said - none of these have been definitely approved as yet. Having said that there are some cracking ideas here and we will pursue at least a some of them!

Cheers
Pete

Update #45

Mar 12 2016

Bastion and Ariel Unlocked!

The two new FREE miniatures for Twisted have unlocked!

Pledges over $150 now also get a free Bastion the Crab miniature and pledges over $250 also get the superb Ariel Miniature for free!



More cool stuff to come so keep your eye out for new stretch goals tomorrow!

Cheers

Pete

Update #46

Mar 12 2016

The Guild of Harmony Arrive

A fourth Faction for Twisted

This disparate band of heroes form the mysterious Guild of Harmony. No one know for sure who leads them and their goals are unclear. What is certain is that they work to ensure that balance is maintained in the streets of Twisted London.

They can be seen working with the various Factions vying for control of The Engine's nodes - sometimes favouring one or the other and sometimes fighting as an independent force of their own to achieve one of their hidden goals.

They have even been known to fight against one another for reasons only truly understood by their masters who seek balance but choose to remain hidden.

Whatever their reasons for joining in the fray the Guild of Harmony should not be underestimated as their assistance can sometimes mean victory!



The Box set of The Guild of Harmony and Pigsty will soon unlock!



There are also the following Characters currently available to backers as either add-ons or free Kickstarter bonuses!






Ariel and Tinker will be available to add to your pledge later during the Pledge Manager if you don't reach the Pledge amount to get them free. They will all be available as a general retail release in metal later on.

With four Factions to choose from now Twisted has really grown and it is due to the fantastic support of our backers that this has been able to happen!

Thanks again!

- Sebastian and Pete

Update #48

Mar 13 2016

Ratcatcha Arrives for the Dickensians

The Urkin forces of the Dickensians are bolstered again by the arrival of Ratcatcha!



This mean little fellow sneaks around the sewers taking rats and other "edible" things for the Urkin dinner tables! He's also adept at lurking in the streets an alleys above and grabbing more waifs for Nancy to turn into Urkin!

For those of you who are Servants of The Engine fans - never fear - the Gentlefolk will receive reinforcements too in the fullness of time!

Cheers

- Sebastian and Pete

 Whumbachumba wrote:
I wish Ariel was an option for an add-on. I guess I will just have to wait until it's available for general release.

Bert Kleyn 1 day ago

Hi, can I as a backer under 250, ad Ariel to my pledge or is she only for 250 Pledgers and above,
Long question sort can I buy her on this kickstarter, or later in retail

Creator Demented Games about 20 hours ago

@ Bert - She will be available as an add on in the Pledge Manager to those below $250 :-)

Update #49

Mar 14 2016
More progress on the Avatar of Set!



Valentin Zak has been doing an absolutely amazing job sculpting the Avatar of Set for the Egyptian faction, and these latest WIP pictures are so incredible that we had to share them with all of you! We only received these today so they are absolutely 'fresh of the press'. Only a few more areas to finish - he's almost done!

The amount of detail Valentin has managed to capture is incredible. The arms, hands and forearm bracers are outstanding in sharpness and clarity, as is the work around the large canopic jars plugging into Set's back complete with tube attachments. Very creepy and sinister, in a steampunk kind of way! The jaw, face and head are also shaping up to be very menacing and characterful.

The Avatar of Set is certainly going to be one of the most outstanding pieces in the entire Twisted range, and a worthy centrepiece for the Egyptians faction! Many thanks to Valentin for the superb work so far.

-sebastian

Update #50

Mar 14 2016

48 Hours to go!

There are only 48 hours left to go in the Twisted campaign - wow, this month has flown by so quickly! We want to say another huge 'thank you' to all of our backers, we literally could not be doing any of this without you and we are so excited to have your wonderful support in making Twisted an amazing universe, game and product. Well done and bravo to all of you!

With only 48 hours remaining it's time to get the rest of the stragglers and fences-sitters involved, especially in order to take advantage of the Kickstarter Exclusives! We're going to do our best to entice some more last-minute support with a few final surprises in store, and we'd love your help to get the most out of the final hours of this campaign. You've done amazing well backing our project and any more support we can generate now will only help to enrich Twisted even further, and make Twisted an even better experience for all of our backers.

So please share the news and let's see if together we can rope in a few more last-minute backers for Twisted! We are all in this together at this point - and it's an exciting ride to be sharing with you!

-Pete and Seb

Creator Demented Games about 3 hours ago

@Howard, Alpharius and others: have no fear, we are planning to keep the pledge manager open for at least a month after the campaign ends

@Ukko: I'm afraid we've been so busy working on content for this Kickstarter that we couldn't quite manage to get the video finished in time for the end of this campaign. Post production takes a while to complete and we want any video we publish to be clear, polished and cool. So we thought we'd rather take our time and publish something more professional as a post-campaign update, rather than rush to finish something that might not be up to our high standards.

-sebastian

Creator Demented Games about 7 hours ago

@ Horselover & Ludvig - Yes - we could do that if you want. We'll run up some estimates of shipping for just those two sets so you can make an informed decision.
@ Alpharius & Phillip - New terrain will likely appear in the Pledge Manager at this stage. Once Craig has done test cuts we can get the prices sorted out and let you guys know!
@ Nostromodamus - We aced that then! :-)
@ Paul - Yes - the cards will be available separately so you can run your existing GoH models in Twisted.
@ Joey - Yes - you will be able to up your Pledge in the Pledge Manager. We hope to have it open shortly after the Campaign ends and it will stay open for at least a month.

Update #51

Mar 14 2016

New Stretch Goal: Tzandi + FREE Painting Guide!

We've got quite a bit of news in this update, as we enter the last 42 hours of the Twisted Kickstarter campaign!

First up we've added a brand new Stretch Goal: this time it's a double whammy featuring both a new miniature - Tzandi - and also a painting guide by Sebastian that will be absolutely free to all backers if we can reach $135k!



Tzandi (or Sandy to those who know her well!) is a gender-swapped version of Sha Wujing, the 3rd hero in the Monkey King's entourage. Tzandi is a water monster and will feature a lot of water symbolism in her design, as well as being a potent water-based alchemancer for your games of Twisted!

The sketch of Tzandi you can see below is absolutely brand new - our brilliant artist Nicolas Amoroso only sent this through a few hours ago! It's the very first rough sketch for Tzandi so it is simply exploring some initial ideas - we have a long way to go to develop the concept and refine the character, but we think we're off to a fantastic start with this one!



But that's not all: if we can reach this Stretch Goal it will also unlock a free painting guide written by Sebastian! Sebastian - also known as automaton on CoolMiniOrNot - is a multi-award winning painter (as well as our lead sculptor, of course!) and is responsible for most of the painted Twisted miniatures you can see in this Kickstarter. If we reach the $135k mark Sebastian will write some painting guides detailing lots of techniques, tips and tricks for painting your Twisted miniatures, with step-by-step photos showing the painting process. This will be a fantastic addition and a cool little free bonus for everyone who backs Twisted.



The others news of course is that thanks to your help and a surge of new pledges, we have unlocked the Guild of Harmony box set! It's now available to be added to your pledge

Update #52

Mar 15 2016

Dawg and Flea unveiled, FREE extra Dice, plus a Playtester Review of the Twisted Game!

We're down to only 33 hours left in the Twisted campaign, and there is plenty more news to share in this update!

First up, the urkin Dawg and Flea have been unveiled in the next Stretch Goal! This is a quirky character Peter came up with: a small urkin riding on the back of a large, dog-like companion, 'Flea' lobbing grenades left and right from the shoulders of 'Dawg'! You can see Peter's initial sketch below. This is simply a rough first sketch and the character has a lot of development to go through, but it's enough to show you our idea

The second part of this stretch goal is another FREE upgrade to the game box: if we reach $140k we will be able to add a 2nd set of dice to the box, so that both you and your opponent can have a complete set each. A very cool and convenient little bonus!



Game Review:

We received this review of the Twisted Game from one of our independent playtesters tonight, and we thought we'd share it with you. This playtester has no affiliation at all with Twisted or Demented Games, so it's great to have an unbiased perspective to share with you:



It's amazing to have such a wonderful review to share with you - we hope you all enjoy the game just as much when you receive your copy.

-Peter and Sebastian

Update #53

Mar 15 2016
24 hours left - and Horace de Havilland final artwork!
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We are now inside the final 24 hours of the Twisted Kickstarter campaign! It is so exciting for Peter and I to know that we've received such support from all of you, our wonderful backers - thank you all for making Twisted such a success! It is such a huge boost it is for a small start-up company like us, and it is so very much appreciated. We will are forever grateful to you all.

Let's go for a final push over the last 24 hours and see if we can add some icing to the cake by reaching a few more Stretch Goals and unlocking more upgrades, Add-ons and free stuff for you. We don't want anyone to miss out on those Kickstarter Exclusives, either!





We've received the final concept artwork for Horace de Havilland, from our amazingly talented artist Owen Aurelio! Owen has done such a fantastic job capturing the haughty, high-handed attitude of Horace - what another excellent addition to the Egyptians faction for Twisted!

Horace will come with the both the pointing left hand and the pistol, so it will be your choice how to equip him for your games of Twisted.




We hope you've enjoyed seeing how the Horace concept has developed! This is the typical process we go through with all of our Twisted characters. We feel it is worth this extra effort to make sure our characters are developed fully, and designed properly to create the most interesting and excellent miniatures possible for Twisted

-Pete and Seb

Update #54 Mar 16 2016

Another Stretch Goal down - 2 new Stretch Goals revealed!

WOW, you guys are too good at blasting through these Stretch Goals! Thanks once again for all of your amazing support - this is turning out to be a very exciting last 24 hours as we get an influx of late pledges! Awesome stuff, we are so thrilled by the way this Kickstarter has unfolded, and it's all because of your generous support.

We've rocketed through the $135k Stretch Goal, so Tzandi and the FREE painting guide are officially unlocked. Well done, everyone!

I've just put up 2 brand new Stretch Goals - surely you guys can't reach these two by the end?? The challenge is on!

At $145k we have the final member of the Monkey King's party: Tricia Harker! This is another double Stretch Goal as it also includes a FREE 'Trevor the Rat' KS Exclusive mini game campaign for our backers. Another cool little bonus for you!



The $150k Stretch Goal is a big one (literally!): if we reach it Sebastian will sculpt an alternate 54mm version of Launcelot, one of our most popular flagship characters for Twisted (the standard version is 32mm size). This will be a painter's dream at the larger scale in resin! If the 54mm Launcelot is added to you pledge, you'll also receive a Kickstarter Exclusive signed artwork to go with the miniature that's only available to Twisted Kickstarter backers. But of course, it'll only happen if we can unlock the Stretch Goal!

insaniak wrote:This stuff just keeps getting better.

I hope the bobbies make it into miniature form.

Jehan-reznor wrote:I like this one

makes me think of Ro-jaws

Spoiler:

Update #55

Mar 16 2016

Only 8 hours to go – and one last Stretch Goal unveiled!

This is it: we are entering the last 8 hours of the Twisted Kickstarter campaign, currently closing in on 600% of our original funding goal! It’s our last chance to get a few more people on board and grab those Kickstarter Exclusives before time runs out!

This Kickstarter is the culmination of years of hard work, not only by Peter and I but also by many talented artists that have contributed to Twisted in countless amazing ways. It is absolutely thrilling to be running such a successful Kickstarter to launch Twisted, but more importantly we’ve been blown away by such a positive and enthusiastic reception by all of you, our wonderful backers! Thank you all for continuing to make the Twisted Kickstarter such a positive campaign




We’ve just added one last Stretch Goal: Craig’s Steampunk Bobby ‘Sgt Clark’ joins the Servants of the Engine, with a Kickstarter Exclusive mini campaign!

Let’s have one last push for the finish line, together!

-sebastian

Update #56

Mar 16 2016
Twisted has funded over 600%! Thank you, to all of our generous backers!
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Wow – well done everyone, together WE’VE DONE IT! Not only has the Twisted Kickstarter been a massive success, but we reached over 600% of our funding goal! Bravo to all of our backers, you’ve helped us turn our dream into a reality!

Thanks to your tremendous support Twisted has already grown far beyond our expectations, with a bunch of incredible new miniatures to be sculpted, upgrades and enhancements to the Rulebook Box Set, and special Kickstarter Exclusive bonus missions! What an amazing result – so much better than we ever dreamed! With such a fantastic ‘kick start’ we are going to be able to do really wonderful things with the world of Twisted and enrich the whole universe. It is a very exciting time for Twisted!

And it’s all thanks to you – our generous backers – that we’ll be able to spend the time improving, expanding and enriching the world of Twisted. So THANK YOU EVERYONE – we are sincerely humbled and grateful for all of the positivity, support and encouragement you’ve shown us over the last month.

Cheers to an absolutely amazing Kickstarter campaign! We can’t wait to get really stuck in to our work, now!

We’re going to immediately start setting up the Pledge Manager so we’ll keep you posted with regular updates with information on how this will work.

We’ll also be posting regular progress updates keeping you informed as we travel the road towards fulfilment, as well as showing more sculpting and artwork WIPs, of course! So remember to check in now and then for the latest news.

Alexander Hayter about 7 hours ago

@demented games Whilst not from London perhaps the plague doctor could form part of a Venetian Carnival faction? After all Venice is only a few days carriage ride away.

Creator Demented Games about 7 hours ago

@ Alexander - a very interesting thought. Noted for future reference :-)

Andrew P about 7 hours ago

Hi DG are all the wave 1 releases (I hope) included in the rulebook? i.e. dickensains, guild of harmony and servants of the engine

Creator Demented Games about 7 hours ago

Hi Andrew, Definitely the Servants and Dickensians in the main book. The guild we be covered in some fashion but the exact form of their information is yet to be decided for sure. Rest assured whatever we do we will make sure you will have all the info you need to run them as your faction when you get them :-)
Cheers
Pete

Update #57

Mar 20 2016
Kickstarter payments, Pledge Manager info, GF Lancer WIPs
1 Comment
1 like

Hi again everyone! The dust from our amazing campaign has settled, Peter and I have caught up on all of our lost sleep, and we have launched ourselves into working hard on Twisted!
What happens now?

By now, your credit card should have been charged by Kickstarter.
If there was any problem with your payment, please contact us and we can organise payment via Paypal - no problem! You will still have access to the Pledge Manager.
We should receive the funding money in around 10 days from now (it takes some time for Kickstarter to process the payment and deposit it into our account).

Please contact us at via PM here on Kickstarter or email to sales@dementedgames.com if you have any problems or questions about paying for your pledge.
When will the Pledge Manager open?

We are working right now to set up the Pledge Manager, and hopefully it should be ready to launch in 10-14 days.
We cannot launch the Pledge Manager until we receive the funding money from Kickstarter, which should be approximately 10 days from now - so sit tight and please be patient, and we'll organise it as quickly as possible!
If you pay us via Paypal you will still be included in the Pledge Manager - we can add you manually.

We will post a full instructions for the Pledge Manager when it is time to launch! We will clearly explain how it works. It should be easy to use, and enable you to select the exact rewards you want to receive in return for your pledge, as well as adding extra to your pledge should you desire. More info will come soon!
Gentlefolk Lancer Early WIP

Here are some photos to make this update a bit more visually interesting!

I've started work on the Gentlefolk Lancer miniature, and these are some early WIP photos of the rough shape for the figure. I have decided to change the pose from the concept art, because I think this 'rearing up' pose will both make the miniature look more dynamic, strong and cool, and also because it will create a stronger 'contact point' with the base so that it is more stable.

I'm really looking forward to continuing work on this one! It's quite a challenging shape for a miniature, so with a bit of luck hopefully I can pull it off and it'll be another interesting addition to the Servants of the Engine.

-sebastian

Update #58

Mar 25 2016
Sculpting news, and more Gentlefolk Lancer WIPs!
1 Comment
11 likes

Hi everyone - a few bits of current news:

By now, your payment should have been processed by Kickstarter. Please contact us if you have any problem at all you can pay via Paypal instead - no problem!
Peter and I are working hard to set up the Pledge Manager, and we'll have it up and running as soon as we can. This will allow you to customise your pledge and choose the exact rewards you want!
You'll be able to modify or add to your pledge as often as you like while the Pledge Manager is open. We have some new products (especially terrain!) that we are planning to release as bonus Add-ons while the Pledge Manager is active.
The Pledge Manager will be open for a decent length of time - at some point we'll need to close it and finalise production numbers but it will be open for at least a month, if not longer.

Sculpting News

That's the dry stuff out of the way: in more exciting news, all of our sculptors (including me!) are working hard on new Twisted miniatures. Stephane Camosseto has started work on the Gentlefolk Sailor, we've got Olivier Bouchet scheduled to start work on 3 miniatures next month, and Valentin Zak has finished the Avatar of Set sculpt! (I'll share photos soon)

As for me: I'm continuing to work on the Gentlefolk Lancer sculpt whenever I've got a free moment in between other Twisted jobs! Here are the second stage of Work-In-Progress photos for the Lancer.

I have decided to do a little re-designing of the mechanical legs compared to the concept art, for a few different reasons. First, I wanted them to look a little more Art-Nouveau-ish and steampunky in shape - a little more low-tech, a bit less futuristic/sci-fi. I also wanted to carry over the mechanical style I used for other Gentlefolk such as the Flower Seller, Blacksmith and Highwaywoman, so that there is more continuity in design between the miniatures. Peter also thinks it looks more industrial and mass-produced this way, too, which fits the idea of the Gentlefolk.

Everything is still very rough at this point - I'm simply trying to get the basic shapes in place before I start concentrating on refining the details.

I had a few questions last time about sculpting material: I normally use Super Sculpey Firm, but lately I have been experimenting with BeeSPutty Plastic (Firm). These are both over-bake synthetic clays and are quite similar, but the BeeSPutty is slightly more elastic/sticky and I find it to be less brittle after baking (which is good when you need to chop up a sculpt for mould-making!). This Gentlefolk Lancer is being sculpted with a 50:50 mix of Super Sculpey Firm and BeeSPutty Plastic (Firm).

Thanks everyone - more updates coming soon!

-sebastian

Update #59

Apr 1 2016

Avatar of Set - final sculpt!

Hi everyone,

Before we get to the exciting pictures, here's a bit of housekeeping news:

Peter and I are still working hard to set up the Pledge Manager - we realise it is taking a little longer than we originally said it would, but this is partly because (thanks to you unlocking so many Stretch Goals!) there are lots and lots of different products and combinations that need to be created. We are hoping to make the Pledge Manager comprehensive and also very clear to understand, rather than launch prematurely - so this is the reason for the delay. But it will be launching soon!

The great news is that we have finally received the funds from Kickstarter - hooray! That is one piece of the puzzle that has now fallen into place, so we are now ready to go full steam ahead

The other good news is that things are rolling along well on the production front for the miniatures themselves: we've made a great start preparing the metal miniatures for production. I'll post more news about that in future updates.
Avatar of Set

Ok, here it is - the final sculpt for the Avatar of Set! This amazing miniature was sculpted by the supremely talented Valentin Zak, who has truly outdone himself with this figure! The complexity of detail is absolutely amazing - I think this miniature is an instant classic and certainly one of the centrepieces of the Twisted range of miniatures!

I want to also thank Nicolas Amoroso for the amazing concept artwork: without Nicolas' talent in developing the concept, this miniature never could had been created. So a big WELL DONE
to both Nicolas and Valentin for creating such an incredible piece of miniature art!

Update #60

Apr 12 2016
Faction Box Review - The Dickensians Starter



Hi all,

This is the first in a series of updates that will focus on the Characters from each Faction Box and give you a guide to their personalities and how they play in Twisted.

We figured, with the Pledge Manager opening soon, that you might like some more detailed information to help you make your choices when it comes to the Faction Boxes you want.

Please bear in mind the example rules and abilities might change a bit during playtesting and final development but we will try and keep to the spirit of what is noted here. First up we will deal with the cunning and shifty Dickensians.
Faction Play Style:

The Dickensians are what could be called a ‘swarm’ faction. You have a good number of Named Characters such as Bill and Dodger but the particular feature of the Dickensians are the lowly (and cheap) Urkin. These demented maniacs roam the tabletop causing no end of headaches for your foe.

The Dickensians will more often than not outnumber their opponents and these numbers can be used to great advantage. It means you will often lose the initial Priority roll of a game but you should have a good number of extra activations after your opponent has activated all his or her characters to give you a tactical advantage. Remember that the Favour of The Engine changes throughout the game so even if you don’t start with it you may well gain it very soon and Priority changes with your successes after the first turn so that is up to how well you go during the game. What doesn’t change (unless things go badly for you) is your numerical superiority!

The Starter Set has a good balance of combat ability and a modicum of Alchemancy. Bill will be your mainstay in Close Combat along with the Bloodrage Achemancer whilst Dodger will take care of your Ranged Combat (mind you Bill is no slouch in this either). Sowerberry will tend to play a bit of supporting role, weakening your foes and being a general pain for your opponent whilst the Urkin skitter about the table making what mischief they can!



Bill Psyches

Personality: Bill is a thug, plain and simple. He is concerned with nothing but the accumulation of wealth and power and he cares not how he gains one or the other. He uses threats and intimidation to keep his allies in line and control the streets above his sewer lair and he is not averse to giving those who annoy him a short lifespan indeed. Since “The Twisting” that Feygin initiated he has become convinced that he is beset by demons that guide his actions. This is simply The Engine using him as a pawn in its machinations...

In Game: Bill is one of the hardest hitting Dickensians, second only to the terrifying Ollyver, but much more reliable. He has a large number of wounds and his armour value is high, making him a real tank. He fights very well in Close Combat and, when combined with a decent Ranged Attack statistic, this makes Bill a very dangerous proposition for your opponent.

On the special ability front Bill can swap the ammunition in his gun to suit his needs and can Threaten his foes, making them move away from him. He can also attempt to charge through other opposing models to get at those he desires to hurt. A good, solid blow from Bill can Stun those he hits leaving them open to being finished off by even a lowly Urkin!
Sowerberry

Personality: Once an Undertaker, known for disposing of “troublesome” corpses for Bill Psyches on occasion, Sowerberry has been transformed into a strange, wraith like entity. The result of experimentation by Nancy in creating a larger, tougher adult Urkin Sowerberry now exists in a kind of half life, roaming the alleys of London gathering more fodder for Nancy’s foul work. His insubstantial form allows him to glide silently through the streets, taking young waifs to meet their unfortunate destinies as part of Bill’s army of Urkin.

In Game: Sowerberry in pure statistics looks quite weak. He is quite slow and his strength is not great. He also has little armour and no ranged attack statistic. This is somewhat misleading as his ghostly form gives him a number of advantages. His Close Combat attack, whilst weak, ignores the armour of the target and he has a chance to ignore damage from any physical attack (i.e. a bullet or knife). He can also move through some terrain and can glide up to the rooftops with ease making him rather more mobile than his statistics might suggest. He has some Alchemantic ability and also exudes an Aura of Death that affects his opponents in Close Combat so attacking Sowerberry can be more difficult than it seems at first glance. His Eyebite gaze attack has a range of 4 inches and, whilst not terribly damaging, can cause his foe to be drawn into the realm of death temporarily, losing them their Activation!
Dodger

Personality: Dodger is the most skillful of Feygin’s gang of pickpockets. Terribly injured in the events of “The Twisting” Dodger now gets about on a monowheel pilfered from one of London’s mechanical Bobbies. If anything, this change of mobility has made Dodger even better at his work as he has become even faster and more agile than before.

Dodger is rather keen on money but for a very different reason to Bill. He would like to get out from under the thrall of the Psychotic thug and views the garnering of wealth as the best way to do this. Even better, as far as Dodger is concerned, if he can take his master Feygin and his friend Ollyver with him. Dodger views the world very differently to Bill for him money is a means to an end, not an end in itself. He is no Robin Hood but he is not averse to flicking a poor washerwoman a gold grown as he zips by - he prefers to gain influence in the streets by favour, not fear. Dodger and Feygin want desperately to get Ollyver back to normal and, whilst they find Nancy’s work distasteful they will try to keep in her favour until such time as they can figure out how to restore Ollyver.

In Game: Dodger is one of the fastest moving Characters in Twisted with a Speed of 7! His Finesse score is also 7 meaning he can interact easily many objects and can jump gaps really well. He cannot, however, climb!

His “Archer” long revolver is equipped with a scope that allows him to expend extra actions to reduce range penalties on his shots and he also has the “Sniper” ability that means Characters cannot claim cover from other Characters against his ranged attacks. His “Scout” ability allows him to take a Ranged Attack Action at any point during his move so he can whip out of cover, fire off a shot, and zoom away before his foe can react. As you would imagine he also has the ability to steal some objects off other Characters so take care with your stuff when Dodger is about!
Bullsye

Personality: Bill’s faithful dog Bullseye is only concerned with one thing... protecting his master!

In Game: Bullseye is quite fast and nimble and reasonably hard to hit in ranged combat. His bite can be quite nasty but his main ability is that when he bites he tends to “Latch On”. This hampers the movement of his foe and causes automatic damage each turn. If Bill is engaged in Close Combat before Bullseye he must move to assist his master. When in a Melee in which Bill is involved Bullseye may take any hit directed at his master - a kind of Canine ablative armour for Bill if you will!
Urkin Alchemancer

Personality: Nancy is constantly experimenting in various base and disturbing ways - ever keen to produce a better, stronger, more resilient breed of Urkin, much like the immensely powerful Ollyver! One of her successes, albiet accidental to some extent is the Urkin Alchemancer.

In trying to produce a more powerful Urkin by imbuing more of The Engine’s essence in she inadvertently created an Urkin with a modicum of Alchemantic power. This small, evil minded lad, now serves as Nancy’s assistant, fetching and carrying vials of the foul essences she needs to drive her research on. He is often dispatched to the streets above to aid in one task or another as his greater intellect make him a useful tool.

A side effect of his creation is that he intermittently turns into that which Nancy was actually trying to achieve - an uber Urkin if you will. He has little control over this transformation and it can come as rather a shock to his foes when they assume they will be fighting a small, weak Urkin and end up facing a raging beast!

In Game: The Urkin Alchemancer is very unusual for an Urkin. Firstly his statistics are, in general, much better and you may also select only one Urkin Alchemancer in any Company you build. He has a reasonable Alchemantic ability but his Schools of knowledge are somewhat limited.

When he transforms however it is an entirely different story. He loses all Alchemantic ability but becomes a Close Combat Powerhouse! If you can get him into a fight in this state it will, in all likelihood, end poorly for your opponent. You do need to take care though as he is likely to change back into his smaller, weaker form at any moment!
Urkin Slashers & Shooters

Personality: These demented little thugs are the mainstay of Bill’s stange army of twisted wee lads and lasses. The Slashers, as they are known, are the dullest and least intelligent of the Urkin, suited only to the simplest tasks and base street robbery. The Shooters are slightly cleverer and more self aware. They can be entrusted, to some extent, with firearms!

Urkin delight in making their own weapons from scraps they find and the more strange and deadly they are the more value the Urkin hold them in. This does tend to result in weaponry of dubious quality however! Urkin are numerous though and engaging one in a fight will likely draw many more of his skittering and shrieking friends to assist!

In Game: Possibly the cheapest models to field in Twisted the Urkin Slashers weigh in at 11 points each. Their statistics are, at best, average and they don’t have a lot of wounds to spare should they get attacked. They have no ranged attack with the exception of a single grenade that they can lob at their foe. These grenades have a random effect when they explode from a squib that simply fails to go off to a mighty explosion worthy of a skilled Alchemancer! The do like things that go bang! They are just a bit rubbish at making them!

Urkin Shooters are a touch more expensive at 14 points but they do carry a ranged weapon. This weapon is also a jury-rigged affair and can explode in their hands or perform beyond all expectations! It is short ranged however so they do need to close with their foes to fire. The Shooters can fight in Close Combat but they aren’t great at it.

All Urkin share a couple of abilities that make them more useful! They can, as an Action, choose to “Lurk” which makes them impossible to target at ranges greater than 3”. They also have the ability to “Reinforce” which means that when an Urkin is killed there is a 50% chance of him being replaced and a 1 in 6 chance of him being replaced by two Urkin! These nasty wee psychopaths have a habit of popping out of the sewers when their foes least expect it!

We hope you found this update useful. Next up we will focus on the Dickensians Expansion Set Faction Box which contains the mighty Ollyver!

Cheers
Pete

Update #61

Apr 13 2016
Pledge Manager coming soon, and Metal Production Update

Hi everyone,

We’ve got some good bits of news to go through today!

First we’ll start with the Pledge Manager. We are still waiting for the final Twisted Pledge Manager page to be finalised – Peter and I would like to apologise for the delay. I know we told you that the Pledge Manager should be up and running within a week or two, but we didn’t realise how much time it would take to build the page properly. We are currently working together with the professional team from Kicktraq/PledgeManager to create the page. Part of the reason it’s taking so long is that there are so many different rewards and combinations to create! So we thought it would be better to take the extra time and make sure everything is clear and correct, rather than rush through a dodgy version.

The good news is that this Pledge Manager delay has no impact at all on us moving towards actual fulfilment! It isn’t delaying our production in any way, and we have already made some great progress in that direction. For example, we’ve already started making the production moulds for our metal Twisted miniatures!
Metal Production Update

We had some cool stuff arrive in the mail, and I wanted to share it with you all! Take a look at these photos: these are metal masters we received recently from Valiant Enterprises, one of our casting production partners in the USA.



What you can see here are metal master casts of 7 of our new miniature for Twisted. My job now is to take these masters and clean them up to start making the next of our production moulds for Twisted!



The production process works like this: the sculpted miniature is sent to a caster, who makes a mould to create the first copies of the miniatures. These first copies/casts are called the ‘masters’. Multiples of these masters can then be cleaned up and used to make a production mould: for example, we might want to make a production mould with 5 ‘Gentlefolk Blacksmith’ miniatures on it.

I took a photo to show you the ‘clean-up’ process for a Gentlefolk Blacksmith: on the right is a master cast straight from the mould, and on the left is a cast I have cleaned and prepped for production moulding. You can see that the cleaned version is much more 'shiny'.



In order to prepare the miniature for production moulding, I examine the figure to make sure it has cast properly, make sure to clean any existing mould lines, and then brush the surface with a copper-bristled brush to make sure there is no residue so that the figure is as clean as possible. This process takes some time but I think it is important in order to make the best quality production mould, to make sure the Twisted miniatures are the the highest quality possible!

-sebastian

Update #62

Apr 17 2016
Faction Box Review - The Dickensians Expansion



Hi all,

After the last update dealt with the Dickensians Starter we will now take a look at the Characters included in the Dickensians Expansion Faction Box. Expansion Box is actually a bit of a misnomer really. The Expansion Box can act as a standalone Company for Twisted. It just plays differently with Alchemancy more to the fore and one of the biggest hitters in the game in the mighty Ollyver!

As before please bear in mind the example rules an abilities might change a bit during playtesting and final development but we will try and keep to the spirit of what is noted here.
Faction Play Style:

See the previous update for an overview of the play style of the Dickensians.

The Expansion Set will see Ollyver taking the brunt of any Close Combat. Both Feygin and Nancy can fight but are best kept out of hand to hand if at all possible. The Urkin Dragoon is a handy Close Combat Character and is quite quick with it whilst the other Urkin play their usual role of being a thorn in your opponent’s side if left unattended to!



Ollyver:

Personality: Once a sweet and shy young lad, Ollyver was transformed by the power of The Engine during “The Twisting”. He is now a raging monstrosity with little self awareness and a propensity to kill anything that comes too close if he is in a bad mood. Feygin and Dodger have worked out how to control him to some extent but he is still unpredictable and, given an unfortunate set of circumstances, can be as much of a threat to his allies as he is to his enemies!

In Game: Ollyver is a beast of a Character on the tabletop! With a whopping 30 Wounds and 8 Armour he will be a hard job for your opponent to take out of action. His Strength of 8 and Close Combat Attack score of 8 make him quite likely to tear even the best fighters limb from limb! His Defence in Close Combat is pretty good but he is rather susceptible to being taken out with Ranged Attacks if you don’t keep him in cover.

In terms of Special Abilities he is a bit of a double edged sword! He can perform a “Furious Charge” moving at triple speed and getting a bonus to Attack. If his opponent rolls poorly on their Defence he can also “Rend” them which causes significant damage as his mighty iron fist comes into play! As an alternative to “Furious Charge” Ollyver may “Plough Through” opposing Characters to charge those behind them and can even Charge through terrain to some extent, smashing his way through houses and walls! He is also “Unthinking” which means he cannot interact with any objects other than doors so no fiddling with dainty chest locks for Olly!

Beware Ollyver when he is Wounded though! He then becomes “Berserk”, increasing his Strength and Speed but in this state he will attack the nearest Character, friend or foe, with the exception of Dodger!
Feygin:

Personality: This wily old fellow used to control his gang of young pickpockets and had accumulated quite significant wealth and power prior to The Twisting. His exploration of the Sewer system below the streets lead him to find not only the curious armed harness he wears but one of the secret chambers that concealed a Node of The Engine. A lesser rogue may well have missed the cunningly concealed chamber but little of value escapes the eye of Feygin! His meddling in that which he did not understand lead to great and ruinous changes in his companions however.

His life now changed he works to try and figure a way out of his current situation with his skin intact (along with Dodger and Ollyver if possible). He fears Bill - he always did - but it is the once kind Nancy than now terrifies him. Should she gain the power she seeks he know it will spell his doom as his usefulness expires. In the meantime he has control of the Urkin and a measure of power in the gang and, even though he regrets the changes they have endured, he recognises that the Urkin are bringing in much more money than the young pickpockets they once were ever did!

In Game: Feygin’s Statistics are solid but not outstanding with the exception of his Finesse score of 8 - the highest currently in Twisted! He has some Alchemantic ability although he is somewhat limited in Schools (Fire and Earth only).

His gun, a “Biggin and Weller Arc Gun” fires bolts of electricity (that he often uses on a low setting to shock disobedient Urkin) that can arc to more than one target. On occasion is has been known to malfunction and fire off a random bolt to quite some distance! Feygin, using his “C’mere Lads” ability can attempt to call more Urkin to his side, adding to the Dickensians numbers. He is also clever enough to know when not to fight and may “Bow Out” of Close Combat without needing to test. His special Harness is somehow linked to The Engine and has a mind of its own to some extent. It defends Feygin even when he doesn’t see the attack coming and hence the old reprobate cannot be flanked or outnumbered in Close Combat!
Nancy

Personality: Nancy is evil, pure and simple. Once a kind a caring woman she was transformed during “The Twisting” and the effects were not only physical.

She is now concerned only with gaining power and controlling The Engine node is her doorway into a world of unimagined dominion over the physical world which treated her so poorly before she became what she is today.

Nancy delights in pain and suffering with little or no thought given to those under her “tender mercies”. She finds the process of creating Urkin fascinating and constantly experiments to create ever more powerful and psychopathic servants.

Through her research she has gained a great deal of knowledge of the arts of Alchemancy and is a force to be feared should she be set against you.

She currently obeys Bill Psyches but only until such time as she feels she no longer has a use for his more visceral kind of power. When she attains the power she so desires it may end very poorly for her current allies indeed.

In Game: Nancy is one of the most powerful Alchemancers in Twisted. Her Combat statistics are average but her Armour is quite low so if she finds herself locked in Close Combat or under serious fire at a distance she may well come off second best.

She has access to all four Schools of Alchemancy and an Alchemancy bonus of 7 so most Invocations are no problem for her and she can take an impressive 11 Power of Invocations giving her great flexibility!

She carries a brace of small throwing knives as her ranged weapons. These won’t do much to heavily armoured foes but she has plenty of other, more damaging, options in her Alchemantic arsenal. She also uses a long, bladed “Whip Shawl” in Close Combat and, if she rolls well on her attacks she can entangle her opponent.

On the Special Ability front she is “Disturbing”, an aura that unsettles her opponents, making Close Combat attacks against her more difficult and disrupts enemy Alchemancers who may be nearby.

Her studies of The Engine node make her an “Engine Mistress” which allows her to redraw any Tempt Fate Card she draws. Nancy delights in pain and has worked out many ways to maximise the agony her blades cause. Her “Murderous” ability causes extra damage on a Critical Hit in addition to the usual halving of a foe’s Armour as she drives her blades in more deeply with a bloodthirsty grin...
Urkin Dragoon

Personality: Whilst most Urkin are maniacs who lack much in the way of intelligence but have plenty of low cunning this is not true of all of them. Some retain a good measure of their intellect and are suited to the more difficult tasks that require a measure of independent action and thought.

The Urkin Dragoon is an example of one of these lads. He retains his love for the soldiery of England and has modeled his equipment on that of the Dragoons he so loved to watch ride by before Nancy changed him.

Urkin of this type are given tasks that will require them to act independently and make their own decisions. They act as messengers and runners for Bill, often carrying his threats to those above his sewer lair or controlling other Urkin on somewhat ‘delicate’ tasks.

These Urkin are also Feygin’s favoured lads as they remind him of the old days and the old man can often be found in the company of one or two of them.

In Game: The Urkin Dragoon is quite fast for an Urkin. He is capable of nipping around the table and positioning himself to flank and outnumber your foes. His statistics are better than a regular Urkin Slasher, with whom he is most closely aligned, and he has more Wounds so staying power isn’t such an issue.

His sabre can inflict a nasty wound and he also carries a small pistol which increases his usefulness.

The Dragoon loses the “Lurk” and “Reinforce” abilities but has much more flexibility with ““Retreat” and “Assault”. “Retreat” allows him to leave Close Combat without a test and “Assault” gives him a free Ranged Attack if he charges into combat (albeit at a hefty penalty).
Urkin Slashers & Shooters

Personality: These demented little thugs are the mainstay of Bill’s stange army of twisted wee lads and lasses. The Slashers, as they are known, are the dullest and least intelligent of the Urkin, suited only to the simplest tasks and base street robbery.

The Shooters are slightly cleverer and more self aware. They can be entrusted, to some extent, with firearms!

Urkin delight in making their own weapons from scraps they find and the more strange and deadly they are the more value the Urkin hold them in. This does tend to result in weaponry of dubious quality however!

Urkin are numerous though and engaging one in a fight will likely draw many more of his skittering and shrieking friends to assist!

In Game: Possibly the cheapest models to field in Twisted the Urkin Slashers weigh in at 11 points each. Their statistics are, at best, average and they don’t have a lot of wounds to spare should they get attacked.

They have no ranged attack with the exception of a single grenade that they can lob at their foe. These grenades have a random effect when they explode from a squib that simply fails to go off to a mighty explosion worthy of a skilled Alchemancer! The do like things that go bang! They are just a bit rubbish at making them! Urkin Shooters are a touch more expensive at 14 points but they do carry a ranged weapon. This weapon is also a jury-rigged affair and can explode in their hands or perform beyond all expectations! It is short ranged however so they do need to close with their foes to fire. The Shooters can fight in Close Combat but they aren’t great at it. All Urkin share a couple of abilities that make them more useful!

They can, as an Action, choose to “Lurk” which makes them impossible to target at ranges greater than 3”. They also have the ability to “Reinforce” which means that when an Urkin is killed there is a 50% chance of him being replaced and a 1 in 6 chance of him being replaced by two Urkin! These nasty wee psychopaths have a habit of popping out of the sewers when their foes least expect it!

That's it for this update! Next up we'll take a closer look at The Servants of The Engine Starter Set and we'll see how they stack up against the sly Dickensians.

Cheers
Pete

Update #63

May 1 2016
Faction Box Review - The Servants of The Engine Starter



Before we get started on the review of the Box contents for The Servants of The Engine starter here's some housekeeping:
Pledge Manager update:

Thanks to all of you for being so patient while we wait for the Pledge Manager to be launched. We realise it is taking a lot longer than we originally indicated. This is because we are working with a third party (Pledge Manager, run by the team behind Kicktraq) in order to create the Twisted page, and it requires some new coding to be done. This is the cause of the delay, while we are waiting for this to be completed.

However, the good news is that this is not causing any delay to the actual production fulfilment for the Twisted Kickstarter, as Seb and I are moving along well with that side of things! Our resin caster (Valiant Enterprises) has been casting up a storm of all the figures we currently have sculpted, and our metal caster (Eureka Miniatures) has already made the first few production moulds for some of the metal miniatures to be included in the faction boxes. I have also been working hard on finalising missions for the rulebook, which are coming along very nicely! Plus Craig at CNC workshop has been his usually busy self, and we will have some more new terrain additions to reveal when the Pledge Manager does finally launch.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for being patient so far - we'll get there eventually!



Nouveau

Personality: Nominally the leader of the Servants of The Engine Nouveau has a direct connection to The Engine and it can perceive the world through a series of small lenses he wears. He has little regard for those he leads and views them as truly Servants of The Engine to be used as he sees fit.

He is not beyond putting their lives in danger if it furthers The Engine’s desires and, whilst not wasteful of those that serve under him he does pay their safety scant regard.

This leads him into conflict with some members of The Servants of The Engine, most notably Gretel who’s strong instincts for independence and self-preservation rankle him greatly.

In Game: Nouveau is a good all-rounder. His combat statistics are good and he is reasonably quick to move around the tabletop. He also has a decent Alchemantic ability and, whilst his access to Elements is a little limited he can call some fairly powerful Invocations. His armour score is also rather good at 7 and this can see him sustain some quite nasty hits before succumbing to injury.

He carries a wicked Sabre that can do significant damage in Close Combat and his “Controller” Riot Pistol is accurate up to quite a long range. It can also fire both barrels at once as “Dual Fire” attack that does 2 lots of damage on a single attack roll however this does come with extra penalties to hit and cannot be done more than once a turn.

His status as “Servant of The Engine” allows him to take two Cards if he chooses to Tempt Fate and he may choose which to keep. In addition a Company he is part of may draw a third Eye of The Engine card if they hold priority however this third card must be taken.

He is also blessed with “Supernatural Speed” that allows him to reroll failed Defence checks against Ranged Attacks and he may also reroll failed Finesse checks to avoid area effects. His “Servant’s Step” ability allows him to spend an Action in Close Combat to move to any free position around his opponent – very useful for outflanking unwary foes!

Tesla

Personality: A brilliant scientist, Tesla was instrumental in the development of the Gentlefolk by the Reichenbach Stahlwerk Co.

He has an overarching curiosity and love of all things technical, some suggest that this verges on madness as very often his devices are beautiful, brilliant and deadly all at the same time. He views the world through a prism of a deep desire to understand how everything works and he has a strong desire to find out more about The Engine and learn it’s secrets. This is not from a sense of wishing to control The Engine but rather harness it’s power to better perfect his craft.

His relations with the rest of The Servants of The Engine could be characterised through more a curiosity to see how events will unfold rather than a deeper sense of loyalty. By no means a heartless man – Tesla cares deeply about those he likes but his insatiable desire to learn more about The Engine can often lead them into some risky scrapes indeed.

In Game: Tesla’s statistics are solid. He’s not a Close Combat monster in his regular state but his Finesse is a very respectable 6 and his Armour of 8 (thanks to his powered suit “Edison”) is really quite impressive. He can increase his statistics by “Overcharging” Edison but this comes with its own set of risks. It increases his Speed, Strength and Close Combat Attacks but reduces his Finesse and Defence scores.

In addition if Tesla rolls a 1 at any time whilst Overcharged Edison will being to Overload! This causes it to give off bolts of electricity that harm anyone nearby and, if the suit is not shut down (by an ally hitting the emergency stop button on Tesla’s back) it explodes and that is very bad for anyone nearby, especially Tesla himself!

He carries a “Plasma Staff” which can be used in both Ranged and Close Combat. He also carries a batch of Grenades of his own design, especially designed to make impressive and rather damaging explosions!

His “Curious Tinkerer” ability allows him to re-roll failed Finesse checks when interacting with items and it also allows him to heal damage on Gentlefolk, something Alchemantic Healing won’t do.

Telsa if often accompanied by a small flock of his own cunningly designed robotic “Interfering Pigeons” and these small birds have a tendency to flap about him and become a distraction for his opponents when they try to land a blow.

Nightingale

Personality: Nightingale is a consummate healer, both kind and gentle. She tries her best to avoid harming others but when her friends are threatened she is willing to get involved in a fight to help them out.

She views the world very differently to Nouveau and sees The Engine as a force for good, a source of power that carefully harnessed could even undo the ruinous changes that have been wrought over the hapless Urkin!

She sees the thrall that The Engine and Nouveau have over Launcelot and knows that the carnage he commits when controlled by them is slowly driving the honourable knight to the edge of madness. She works quietly to figure out a way to break this control and restore to Launcelot the free will to do what he sees as right. She trusts that this aligns with the overall goals of The Engine but that remains to be seen…

In game: Nightingale is not a Combat oriented Character. She can fight but her best statistics are her Defence and Alchemancy scores. She is reasonably fast but lightly armoured and will suffer badly if engaged in any prolonged melee or firefight.

Her Alchemancy score is a solid 6 and she has access to all Elements bar Fire. Her primary access is to Water and Air so she can heal and allow your other Characters to move around the board more quickly.

She carries a Surgical Knife which whilst not terribly damaging has the property of being able to slip between the armoured areas of a foe if they fail to Defend themselves well, adding to its lethality. Her Ladies Pistol has a reasonable range but again does a bit less damage than the larger, heftier weapons carried by her companions.

As an “Elemental Healer” Nightingale can exchange any Elemental Essence for any other in order to call an Invocation that heals so her usefulness in keeping your Company fighting cannot be underestimated. She also carries her famous lamp and with her “Lamplight” ability she can dazzle nearby foes or help her companions target enemies concealed by smoke or other non-physical obstructions to Ranged line of sight. Finally, and not least, her wings give her the ability to “Flit” twice a game which allows her to take a double move as a single action over intervening objects or Characters and even fly up to the rooftops to a place of safety from where she can work her Alchemancy, away from the “attentions” of her foes.

Gentlefolk

First developed by the Reichenbach Stahlwerk Co. of Prussia the “Selbstgesteuerter Dampfdiener” or Self Controlled Steam Servant was first sold to the public at the great Steam Expo in Hammersmith.

Initially the Steam Servants were simply robots who were built to serve a purpose - more animated machines than anything else.

The Engine, discerning that some scholars had found references to its nodes, decided that these new machines would make an excellent force with which to defend itself. It was concerned that if humanity could control the nodes it would begin to lose its control over the world and, to The Engine, control is everything!

The Engine’s first action was to use its powers to influence Tesla. Giving the already brilliant man incredible insights into the secrets of steam technology. The Engine gave its new servant the task of improving the design of the machines to a point where they became useful servants.

Tesla set to work and within a year the simple, lumpen machines had become elegant works of art, mirroring the human form but unique and built to suit their purpose perfectly.

First adopted by the rich and powerful as household servants and a means to show their copious wealth and avoid the rather tedious matter of dealing with actual human staff, the “Gentlefolk” as they came to be called in England, were soon adopted by industry and the military where they truly began to prove their worth as a tireless and fearless force of workers.

Some Gentlefolk simply human shaped automatons whilst others sport specially designed parts to carry out their tasks with great efficiency. Some have elongated legs, some centaur like forms and some are stocky and squat with great steam driven muscles that have many times the power of a human being. They are as varied as the tasks which they are required to perform. A perfect example of form following function.

Humans are still employed in many areas that Gentlefolk work but there are entire companies of miners and whole regiments of troops made up of the steam powered automatons.

The first generation of Gentlefolk were little more than pre programmed machines, suited only to a dozen or so relatively simple tasks. The newer models are fully capable of learning and to some extent reasoning, better able to respond to their masters wishes and more able to operate independently.

This increase in independence has lead to some interesting and unexpected quandaries. In some cases the Gentlefolk have developed enough independence to actually leave their employment and strike out on their own. This is rare but not so uncommon that in some areas of London you’ll see the elaborate steel constructs selling flowers on street corners or working as labourers. There are even instances of Gentlefolk becoming higwaymen or robbers to make their living.

These “free” Gentlefolk are arrested and reprogrammed when they can be caught but the strength and speed of even the cheapest models makes this a difficult task for the Peelers.

Most Gentlefolk are adorned with items of normal clothing that make their owners feel more at ease with them. This is usually a simple hat, scarf or other clothing associated with their trade, sometimes the livery of a butler or other servant.

The “Free” gentlefolk tend to wear more human clothing to help conceal their true nature but remain fiercely proud of their steel heritage will always allow some of their mechanical bodies to show.

In the 25 years since they were first developed the Gentlefolk are now a common sight throughout England and Europe. They work in all manner of tasks and their presence in almost any situation raises barely an eyebrow these days.

Since the discovery of the Engine nodes there has been a great rise in the number of Gentlefolk “going rogue” as the Engine’s plan comes to fruition and it takes control of ever increasing numbers of them.

The Engine, knowing it has been discovered, has called it’s Servants but the creation of these heroes has put a great burden on it’s resources. This would normally not be a problem but the rise, worldwide, of groups seeking to uncover and control the Nodes has meant The Engine now needs an army to defend itself. A few champions, no matter how powerful, just won’t keep the never ending tide of those who seek it’s secrets at bay.

The Gentlefolk, developed under Tesla, proved to be just what The Engine desired. A band of fearless and tough servants who will unquestioningly do its bidding.

Controlling the Gentlefolk is much less of a drain than calling and keeping a human champion in line.

The Gentlefolk, however, cannot be healed by normal means, Even most Alchemantic Invocations won’t heal them. Tesla, however, has a special affinity for his creations and is able to repair even the most badly damaged ones given time.

Where ever a challenger appears to be closing on a Node The Engine will take control of a number of the automata nearby and bring a Servant or two to defend itself.

Mechanical: All Gentlefolk are “Mechanical”. This means that they are unable to be healed by Alchemantic Invocations. If damaged they need to be repaired. This is a Finesse Check by another Character against a target number based on the level of Damage. Tesla is by far the best at this and has a substantial bonus to his chances of success.
Gentlefolk Highwaywoman

The highwaywoman is an example of one of the “Free” Gentlefolk. She was once a servant in a grand country manor. When the house was destroyed in a fire she survived and, purloining a brace of pistols from the ruins took to the roads and highways of England, robbing to survive.

In Game: The Highwaywoman is reasonably fast moving with a speed of 5 and quite a good shot. She is a little less powerful in Close Combat but she can hold her own unless her opponent is rather skilled. Her Finesse is also solid at 4 so she can avoid area effects and jump rather well.

She has a pair of very well crafted dueling pistols which allow her to make accurate ranged attacks using her “Aim” ability should she not move in her Activation. She also has the ability “Stand and Deliver” that allows her to make a single Ranged Attack, albeit with a penalty, in her opponent's turn should she be charged or engaged in Close Combat from within her line of sight.

She is also “Shifty” and this allows her to leave Close Combat without an opposed check should she not be the only Character from her Company engaged in the melee.
Gentlefolk Blackmsith

The Blacksmith is an example of one of the more specialised Gentlefolk. He is built with one purpose – to hammer steel all day long without tiring! He carries his own furnace and this model of Gentlefolk is found in many foundries and smaller ironworking establishments throughout London.

In Game: The blacksmith is rather slow in terms of movement. He lumbers around the tabletop attempting to bring his great strength to bear in Close Combat which is his forte.

His Strength of 5, combined with the high basic damage of his hammer makes him a threat to even the most heavily armoured foe! His own armour is a respectable 6 and he has a good number of wounds so he can fight on for quite some time. His Finesse and Defence scores are on the low side however so he can find himself in some trouble if caught in a fusillade of gunfire or attacked by a skilled Alchemancer.

The Blacksmith has the ability “Knockback” which represents his heavy blow sending his opponent flying if he does sufficient damage.

He can also emit “Smoke” to cover himself and others from ranged attacks but adding a few oily rags into his furnace. His only ranged attack is to reach into his burning belly and fling hot coals at his foes. These don't do a great deal of damage and have a short range but they do bypass armour so their usefulness cannot be underestimated.

The immense power of the Blacksmith's blows can be used to “Shatter” objects on the tabletop giving him a bonus to open doors or barrels and allowing him to easily ruin objectives that take damage to destroy.
Gentlefolk Lancer

This fellow is a military model of the Gentlefolk. There are entire regiments of Gentlefolk cavalry and soldiers and The Engine finds them particularly useful additions to it's fighting forces. Their uniforms are usually reminiscent of their human equivalents but on occasion they are enamelled in their unit colours. Often the military Gentlefolk have heavy leather covers that are used to protect them from the elements whilst on the march.

In Game: The Lancer, as one would expect, is a very fast moving Character. He is not terribly strong but makes up for this with his “Run Through” and “Thundering Charge” abilities which add to his damage when he charges and can render opponents prone as he moves through them!

He carries a pistol which is very useful although not terribly accurate at long ranges. His primary weapon is his long lance which gives him the “Reach” ability allowing him to attack in Close Combat from a base width away from his target without actually locking himself into the fight. This means he can become a kind of 'second rank' in a fight if one of your other Characters is involved!

The next update - coming soon - will focus in the Servants of The Engine Expansion.

Cheers
Pete

Update #64

May 6 2016
Gentlefolk Lancer sculpting WIPs - almost finished!

Hi everyone,

It's been a while since we showed the first WIP pics of the Gentlefolk Lancer, so here are some more stages in the progress series.

This miniature is being sculpted by me (Sebastian), and here we can see stages 2 - 7 of the sculpting process. I thought it might be interesting to show you a series of photos taken from the same angle, so you can easily see how the sculpting develops at each stage.

My method of sculpting is to create the general form all over the miniature, then gradually refine each area in stages, before finalising the fine detail work at the end of the process. The missing parts - the spear/lance, gun and tail - would get in the way if attached earlier, so they are sculpted separately and aren't added until near the end of the sculpting (you can see them roughly tacked in place in the last WIP photo)

The primary sculpting material being used is Super Sculpey Firm, mixed with BeeSPutty Plastic (both grey oven-bake polymer clays). The more bone-coloured parts have been mixed with Tamiya Quick Type, a two-part epoxy putty. Sometimes it is easier to use epoxy putty for certain details so that they harden quickly, while the clay around them remains 'wet' until baked.

Photos of the finished miniature will be coming soon!

p.s. Thanks again to everyone for being so patient while we wait for the Pledge Manager coding to be finalised. We'll be sure to let you all know as soon as it's ready - and we'll have some nice new terrain to debut, too!

Update #65

May 17 2016

Faction Box Review - The Servants of The Engine Expansion



Hi all,

In this second update we will cover the characters who make up the Servants of The Engine Expansion set.

Firstly though there is a wee bit of housekeeping to get through:


Pledge Manager: We aren't far off now! We are down to the last few tweaks and we do hope to launch it very soon. We are just wanting to ensure it is easy for you all to work with as our Kickstarter has a large number of options so we felt it better to get it right rather than do it quickly and have it harder to work with.

We thank you for your patience! We also wish to say again that the delay with the pledge manager has no bearing on the progress of the project - a lot is happening behind the scenes!

What else is happening?: At the moment we have Mitchell Nolte working away at the art for the box set sleeves - it's looking awesome (I'll show you some of the illustrations soon!). Lily McDonnell is working away on a shiny new Logo for Twisted too, giving our current one a bit of spit and polish.

We also have the talented Owen Aurelio working on the concept for the Gentlefolk Miner whilst Nicolas Amoroso is doing some work that will remain secret for the moment!

On the sculpting front Sebastian has finished the Gentlefolk Lancer and we'll show him off once we have good photos taken. He has now moved on to the Guardians of Set from the Egyptian sets. We also have the Gentlefolk Sailor and the couple of remaining Urkin being done.

We have the masters for Set and the Bloodrage Alchemancer from Stephane in hand now too and, if I do say so myself, they are fantastic. The photos we have don't do them justice! They will soon go off for mastering with Valiant in the USA.

Nic at Eureka has completed a bunch of production moulds and metal models will soon be pouring out of his forge and we will begin packing them in anticipation of getting the box sets ready to ship to you all.

Now on with the Faction Set update as promised.

First up though here is some information I probably should have covered last time!
The Servants Faction Play Style:

The Servants tend to be a fairly elite Faction.

By and large their Characters are more expensive than the Dickensians and the Gentlefolk that make up the ‘grunts’ of the Servants Companies are around twice as expensive in points as the Urkin.

This means that, in general, The Servants of The Engine will be outnumbered but certainly not outgunned! Careful play in the early stages of the game will be important to ensure you can whittle down the weaker Dickensians before driving home your advantage in skills and power at the point of a well honed blade! Both the starter and the Expansion are fairly good Companies for games of Twisted.

The Starter is possibly more defensive in nature and some care will have to be taken to keep Nightingale safe but the Lancer and Blacksmith can take the brunt of the Close Combat for you.

The Expansion suits a more aggressive play style with the mighty Launcelot backed up by the Alchemantic powerhouse that is M’Dusa. The Sailor is no slouch in ranged combat whilst the Flower seller can be a very nasty (and bloody) surprise for your opponent!



Launcelot:

Personality: Launcelot is The Engine’s greatest weapon. His skills in combat are unmatched and he is capable of taking on, and defeating, even the most worth fighters in all of London. As one might expect he is brave and honourable, at least when he is in control of himself...

Carried on Launcelot’s hip is a device known as “The List”. This is a direct link to The Engine, given to him by Nouveau who was fully aware of it’s real purpose.

The List can take control of Launcelot and direct his actions to some extent. When a name prints out of the device there is nothing that will stand in Launcelot’s way in killing the so named person. Even innocent bystanders who are seen to interfere will be slaughtered mercilessly, no act is beyond Launcelot when he is under the thrall of The List!

He remains aware of his actions but cannot stop himself. This is slowly driving him closer to madness as his essentially honorable nature wrestles with the despicable acts his is sometimes forced to perform.

He knows that Bill Psyches and the Dickensians must be stopped from getting more control of The Engine’s node but he desperately wishes that he could be free to tackle the task his way.

In Game: Launcelot is possibly one of the best all round fighters in Twisted. At 49 points he is an expensive Character to field but with a +7 bonus to attack in Close Combat and +6 in Ranged Combat he is worth every point! His Strength of 6 along with his wickedly sharp sword means he can deal large amounts of damage quickly, in addition it can cause his opponent to “Bleed” which means when they have a chance of taking further damage each maintenance phase with every wounding hit.

Defensively he has 10 armour so he can also withstand almost the strongest of blows before taking any harm. His Close Combat defence is a respectable 5 but he can he at risk from ranged attacks and his movement is average so care must be taken not to leave him exposed.

In addition he carries a great rifle known as “The Lance”. This long ranged weapon has the ability to target a point on the table rather than an enemy Character. Any Character, friend or foe, between Launcelot and this point has a chance of being wounded as the great, rocket powered, shell whizzes across the tabletop!

On the special abilities front The List is represented by the “By The Engine’s Will” ability. This gives Launcelot a +2 bonus on all attacks against an opposing Character who is nominated randomly at the start of the game. For some reason The Engine wants that Character dead and it is Launcelot’s job to see it done!

He also has the ability “Determined” that allows him to make and additional free attack against any Character in contact with him should he reduce any other Character he is in Close combat with to 0 wounds.

His final ability is “Challenge” which, if successful, forces an opposing Character to move towards Launcelot and ensures that Launcelot may only attack that foe until he or she is dead.
Gretel:

Personality: Gretel is a fiercely independent woman. She has been summoned to aid The Servants but does so in her own way. She is accompanied at all times by Hansel - a small monkey she named in honour of her brother who was killed by a rogue Alchemancer some years ago.

She holds great disdain for Alchemancers, considering them dangerous and untrustworthy in general. She carries with her several wands that she has taken from Alchemancers she has defeated, all of whom were fond of the more distasteful kind of “experimentation” that is sometimes carried out.

This kind of work required her to become an expert shot and an agile and skillful rogue. She was lucky enough to find a pair of gauntlets in the abode of one “Ezrail Willis” an Alchemancer with a penchant for animating corpses, particularly those of children. This pair of linked arm coverings has allowed her to link her movements with those of Hansel, increasing her ability to break in anywhere due to the agility of her pet.

She distrusts and dislikes Nouveau. She knows he is truly a Servant of The Engine and is aware that all the other Servants are viewed by him as mere pawns. This is not something she will tolerate lightly. She will follow his commands as long as his goals align with hers. Currently she has a great desire to see the foul work Nancy is engaged in ended and this must, for the moment, override her distaste for Nouveau...

In Game: Gretel is fast and agile with a Speed of 6 and Finesse of an impressive 7. This is backed up by her “Nimble” ability which means she can re-roll failed Finesse checks to avoid area affects and gains an extra +1 to her Defence against ranged attacks for cover.

Her attack statistics are fairly solid with an emphasis on ranged combat. Her Dueling Pistol has a good range and the damage is also rather good.

Her Close Combat weapon is her gauntlet “The Hand of Hansel” with which she can inflict a solid blow. This wondrous item also allows her a couple of other abilities.

The first of these is “Thrust” which can push an opponent away from Gretel. This is very useful for avoiding Close Combat or for shoving foes off ledges and balconies!

Secondly she has “Linked Finesse” with Hansel and this means she can interact with objects up to 6” from her, sending the small monkey scuttling away to pick locks and open crates using her own movements and Finesse.

She is also a skilled “Witch Hunter” which means she is +2 on all attacks against Characters with some Alchemantic Ability. In addition any damage she causes drains some Elemental Essences from her foe.

Finally she carries with her a small brace of “Wands” she has taken from the Alchemancers she has defeated. At the start of a game of Twisted 3 random Alchemantic Invocation cards are drawn and Gretel may use each of these only once per game.
M’Dusa:

Personality: M’Dusa is a very powerful Alchemancer. She is proud and elegant with a strong sense of justice. Curiously, and as many do not realise, M’Dusa is not a humanoid at all.

M’Dusa herself is a construct of indeterminate origin. The body of M’Dusa is the cowl form that rests over the head of her current host body, linked by spinal and cranial probes.

The cowl also holds a pair of “Seeker Snakes” that are normally curled inside it but can emerge and move independently of M’Dusa.

Her preference of host is normally those that do not deserve an independent life. Murderers and street thugs that would otherwise make the life of the good people of London a misery.

Regardless of the real phyisical appearance of the host M’dusa always chooses to appear as a beautiful and poised woman clad in fine, if somewhat unusual garb. This is perhaps a reference to the origins of M’Dusa but none can say for sure.

M’Dusa, much like Nightingale, would like to see Launcelot freed from The List but has a different motivation. M’Dusa believes the knight would be more effective if given free reign and she believes that Nouveau is being wasteful of this great and powerful resource.

She wishes to see Bill Psyches brought down and the balance of The Engine restored so a modicum of peace might once again be brought to the streets of London.

In Game: M’Dusa is an Alchemantic powerhouse, rivaled only by Nancy. She is reasonably fast with a Speed of 5 however her Strength and Close Combat statistics are average. She is quite a good shot with “The Serpent”, her crossbow and this is coupled with the "Deadeye” ability which reduces the penalty for firing safely into Close Combat where an ally is involved.

Her “Seeker Snakes” in her cowl can be sent out independently and she may use them as channels for her Alchemancy, calculating the range and line of sight from their position rather than hers.

The Seekers also form her close combat attack and although the damage they do is not great their venom can weaken a foe.

The myriad of small snakes on her cowl keep a watch for her and this “Awareness” means she may not be flanked in Close Combat, nor is there a bonus for attacking her from the rear.

When M’Dusa reaches the Wounded state her statics change, representing her host body being killed. If she then manages to have an opponent reduced to 0 wounds in a melee in which she is involved she may possess the new body, healing herself and becoming fully effective again. She may not be healed in any other manner whilst in this state however but normal Alchemantic healing is effective as long as she is not in the Wounded state.
Gentlefolk:

As noted in the last update The Engine uses Gentlefolk, semi sentient automatons as it’s expendable fighting force. This set contains four of them. As previously mentioned they all share the Mechanical property that means they cannot be healed by normal Alchemantic Invocations but rely on Finesse checks from their allies to repair them.
Gentlefolk Sailor

Personality: Another example of a military model Gentlefolk the sailor is a model used widely by the Royal Navy to bolster its ranks. Rather than send press gangs out into the inns and taverns of the docks it’s simpler and more efficient to simply build the crew one needs to keep Britain’s great navy running.

This particular example has been fitted with a cannon and is what is known by the human sailors with whom he serves as a ‘deck clearer’.

In Game: The Sailor is quite slow. These Gentlefolk aren’t designed for speed as they are meant to serve in the close confines of naval vessels.

His combat statistics are solid but not awesome. He can hold his own in Close Combat but should not be left unattended against a skilled foe. His cutlass can cause quite it bit of damage to lightly armoured enemies though!

His primary use is as a mobile firebase for your Company where he can bring the great cannon he carries to bear, wreaking havoc amongst your enemies.

The Cannon can fire two types of shot, shell and cannister. Shell has a better range and explodes at the end of its flight. This makes it quite deadly against tightly packed foes. Cannister uses a template and requires no roll to hit but is is very short ranged - perfect for clearing alleys however! The cannon is, however, a slow weapon and this means it may only fire once a turn.

The Sailor also has an ability called “Arr me hearties” which allows him to make a special consolidation move in addition to his normal movement. When using this ability he must end up closer to his allies than when he started.
Gentlefolk Gamekeeper

Personality: These types of Gentlefolk are purchased and kept primarily by the landed gentry and the ownership of one of the better models is a badge of prestige!

They are designed to be fast and agile to keep up with game and poachers!

In Game: The Gamekeeper has a good Speed of 5 as befits his hunting tasks. The rest of his statistics are solid making him a reliable addition to your Company.

His primary weapon is a large shotgun that uses a blast template when firing. This means he need not roll to hit when close enough to his opponents. He can use his “Ammunition” ability to swap out the Bird Shot for Deer Slugs which gives him much greater range but does require the usual rolls to hit.

He also has an ability called “Run ‘Em Down” which allows him to make an extra 2” move if this will put his shotgun in range of an opponent.

His most interesting ability is “Trapsetter” which allows him to lay traps as an Action which are then triggered if an opponent gets too close. The type of trap is random and is generated when the trap is triggered. This is very useful for controlling the movements of your opponent and protecting objectives!
Gentlefolk Flower Seller

Personality: Much like the Highway woman this character is an example of a “free” Gentlefolk. In this case she has escaped her servitude and now makes a living selling flowers on the streets of London.

This is not without risk and the sharp blades, no doubt part of her previous task perhaps in a wool mill or leather tannery, serve her well in both cutting flowers and defending herself on the sometimes dangerous byways of the less salubrious areas of her patch.

In Game: The Flowerseller is exclusively a Close Combat focused character. She has no ranged attacks whatsoever! She makes up for this with a better than average Close Combat attack statistic and some really handy close combat abilities.

Firstly her Pruning Blades (the ones on her arm) are Razor Sharp and will score a Critical hit on a 19 0r a 20 rather than just a 20. The upper blades known as Scorpion Shears allow her to make an immediate attack, albeit at a penalty, against any foe who attacks her from the rear.

Having the two sets of blades also gives her the "Multi Strike" ability which means she gets two Close Combat attacks per round and can choose to attack two different foes or she can direct both attacks at a single opponent.

She is also adept at blending into a crowd and has the "Inconspicuous" ability. This means she may not be targeted with a ranged attack unless her opponent wins an opposed Finesse check to spot that she is not what she seems. She can spend an Action to give herself a +4 bonus on this check until her next Activation.

Once she is engaged in Close Combat her opponents quickly realise how deadly she is however and can target her normally.
Gentlefolk Teacher

Personality: In some of Britain’s better schools Gentlefolk are employed as staff, both janitorial and teaching. The Teacher is an example of one such automaton.

Renowned for their adherence to rules and encyclopedic knowledge they are valued additions to any good school and are among the most expensive Gentlefolk to purchase so only the very finest institutions can afford them,

In Game: The Teacher is an interesting Character to run. Her combat statistics are only average but she is very tough and hard wearing as befits a Gentlefolk that had to face up to the “attentions” of unruly schoolboys.

Her primary close combat weapon is her Switch which whilst not terribly damaging has a chance to stun her foe with it’s whip like pain. In terms of ranged attacks she carries a number of darts taken from children who most certainly “should know better” but can be put to good use at reasonably close range.

Her abilities are more about weakening your foes resolve rather than damaging anyone. "Stop it you naughty boy!" means that any Character wishing to attack her mist first pass a Finesse Check based on her current Life total

Her "Stern" ability gives her the ability to shrug off some wounds if she can make a check against the damage dealt, increasing her longevity and making her a real roadblock in some circumstances.

She can also "Lecture" her foes which means that her foe is cowed and may not act in their activation as she gives them a “jolly good telling off” if they fail an opposed check against her.

As you can see she is an unusual Character for a wargame in that she really doesn’t have much of a combat role but is more a foil for you to use to blunt your opponent’s plans.

That's it for now - next up I'll go through the Characters included in the Egyptian Starter set!

Cheers
Pete

Update #66

May 17 2016

Whoops!

Hi all,

A wee correction to last night's update!

Stephane is working on the Gentlefolk Sailor for us. I mistakenly said he'd shipped the Set and Bloodrage Alchemancer to us when in fact that was Valentin Zak!

Apologies to both of them and to you :-)

Cheers

Pete

Update #67

May 28 2016
Egyptian Desert Guardians sculpting WIPs - making good progress!

Hi Everyone,

First up: we are very close to launching the Pledge Manager, the extra coding is all complete so all we need to do are the final checks to make sure it's working properly before we go live. Stay tuned for news and we'll make sure we explain everything clearly when it's time to launch! Thanks again to all of you for being so patient.

While we've been waiting, you'll be pleased to hear that Sebastian has been keeping busy by making a strong start on sculpting the Egyptians! Here are some WIP photos of the first two Desert Guardians of Set, which come in the Egyptian Starter and Expansion faction boxes.

In these photos the sculpts are about 75% complete: the main things remaining are the weapons, some extra detailing, and of course the 'Set helmets/masks' that are the iconic and most characterful part of these Desert Guardian concepts. It looks like Sebastian has made a really great start on these first Egyptians, and he's been having a lot of fun working on them!

As usual, Sebastian has been using a mix of Super Sculpey Firm and BeeSPutty Plastic (firm) polymer clays for the sculpting, along with Tamiya Quick Type epoxy putty for some detail parts (the bone-coloured bits). For those of you who are new to miniatures, these figures are sculpted by hand at 1:1 scale, so the sculpted originals are 32mm sized, the same as the final production retail casts.

Peter and Seb

Update #68

Jun 2 2016
Faction Box Review: The Egyptians Starter



Hi all,

In this update I will be giving you an idea of how the Egyptians will play. Please bear in mind these guys are still in development at this stage so some of the abilities might change and some new ones might be added.You will also find much more developed backstories in the final rules when published.

This should, however, give you an idea as to how we are thinking and I’m fairly certain that although the specifics might change a wee bit the general feel of the Faction won’t.
Basic Faction information:

The activation of the London Node by Feygin caused all the other Nodes in the world to spring to life as The Engine became wary of further interlopers.

The strange effects of the Node in Egypt, beneath the ancient temples of Sepermeru, piqued Carter’s curiosity and, after months of investigation and digging he, and his force of local workers uncovered the central Node Chamber.

This cavernous space was filled with devotional canopic jars, placed there thousands of years earlier surrounding the strange golden plinth that forms the Node. As Carter and his team worked the jars, having become partly sentient due to their proximity to the Node for an extended period began to work their influence.

One by one the Carter and his companions were overcome with a desire to possess one of these jars and, upon picking a jar up each of them became bonded with the memories and influence of the ancient Egyptian who’s remains the jar contained.

The Engine, perceiving this unexpected turn of events called forth the Avatar of Set to kill Carter and his team however the Archaeologist, well schooled in Ancient Egyptian rites and, to no small measure, Alchemancy was able to first hold the Avatar at bay. His bonded canopic jar, the remains of a High Priest, then sprung to life and allowed him to dominate it, bending it to his will for the moment.

The Engine’s plans had gone awry.

The local workers now regard both Carter and Set as deities and have formed a cult, the Guardians of Set, to defend them and carry out their wishes.

Carters companions, each of them bonded with a canopic jar, also work to help him in his work but their methods and motivations vary as ancient rivalries, brought from the grave after thousands of years come to the fore.

Carter has now left Egypt on a Steamer bound for London to try and seize control of the revered “Starting Node” that is present in that great city. In the hold of the ship are his followers - London has not seen their like before and blood is sure to follow them...

Faction Play Style:

The Egyptians have some very hard hitters in their ranks - Set in particular. They do rely on some level of synergy between Characters to be truly successful though.

They won’t be as numerous as the Dickensians but will likely outnumber The Servants of The Engine slightly.

In general terms they will be “swift but squishy” so care will need to be taken not to engage very tough opponents lightly.

Canopic Jars: Most Characters in the Egyptian Faction have a bonded canopic Jar. These jars contain the essence of an ancient Egyptian. The Characters can try and access the essences in the jars to enhance their abilities during the game. The type of benefit is determined by the personality of the essence. For example a great warrior's essence might increase close combat attacks and that of a great strategist might increase close combat defence.

Activating these will be a test of some sort and things may not go well if the test is failed badly.

The Characters



Carter:

Personality: Carter is first and foremost an archaeologist. His thirst for knowledge is unquenchable and it is this very desire to seek the mysteries of the world that has lead him into the situation he now finds himself in.

He is not an evil man, just thoughtless and relentless in his pursuit of knowledge. He believes that whatever must be done to gain a greater understanding of the world is necessary and that the ends fully justify the means.

Little does he realise his domination of Set is not total and that the influence of this malign deity is slowly corrupting him...

In Game: Carter will likely be the Alchemantic mainstay of the Egyptians. He is intended to be quite powerful in this regard but will be reasonably weak should come under sustained attack.

His base statistics will be average but the canopic jar will be able to be used to enhance a couple of his statistics for a short while each game or add a special ability temporarily. This effect will be common to most, if not all of the Egyptian Characters.

He will have a decent ranged attack but his close combat ability will only be moderate.
Agatha:

Personality: Employed initially to record Carter’s exploits Agatha comes from a wealthy, although middle class, background.

Her father, a rising industrialist, sent her to the finest schools and it was there, amongst the truly rich and powerful that she developed her love of hunting.

On arriving in Egypt she purchased the finest elephant gun she could afford, which, with her payment from Carter and her father’s wealth was very fine indeed! The rise in social standing from being in association with a man such as Carter has given Agatha a taste for the good life and she intends to make the most of this opportunity.

During her time in Egypt she managed to bag nearly every type of big game available and the loud report of her gun is heard at both dusk and dawn as she roams the countryside, constantly searching for bigger and better trophies.

She now serves as Carter’s chief tactician as her bonded canopic jar contains the remains of a long dead Egyptian general. Her own intellect, combined with the brilliance of the general makes her a very useful addition to Carter’s entourage indeed.

In Game: Agatha will primarily be a ranged combat Character. Her elephant gun will be capable of causing great damage to even the most heavily armoured opponent.

In close combat she will likely be less impressive and she will be relatively slow and, as is common to most Egyptians, fairly lightly armoured.

She will be able to boost her defences using her canopic jar and will have some abilities to help the Egyptians control the pace of the battle.
Hercule

Personality: Hercule is a Gentlefolk automaton of Belgian manufacture. He was designed specially for Carter’s expedition as a kind of diary keeper and general servant. His programming allows him a good measure of independence and he has, over time, developed quite a pronounced personality of his own.

His powers of observation are unmatched as he has been built to notice the smallest detail that needs attention and he can often be seen attending to the upkeep of the expeditions equipment and generally keeping an eye on the local workforce.

When anything is misplaced Hercule can be guaranteed to locate it within moments and return it polished and immaculate to it’s owner.

He is usually seen in the company of Agatha for whom he has been a useful addition to her own record keeping and the two of them have developed a bond that, whilst sometimes fractious, is quite close.

They are sometimes heard to argue in the tongue of ancient Egypt and it entirely possible that the canopc jars they possess were rivals in a previous life. How this plays out in this world is uncertain...

In Game: Hercule is moderate in all respects in combat. He can fight and shoot (using his pistol) but it is not his forte.

He is best used as a “spotter” for Agatha and he can enhance her ability to hit a target by getting line of sight himself. When he is close to her he also allows her to change the ammunition in her gun as he carries a good selection of specialty rounds with him at all times.

He is also particularly useful in missions where something must be found or spotted as his powers of observation are quite astounding.
Houd of Set

Personality: Imagine a very ill tempered Hyena and you will pretty much be spot on for the Hounds of Set. Once dogs kept by Carter’s team these animals have been twisted by the power of the Node into fearsome and lithe hunting beasts.

They are used to run down foes and hunt out spies, their sense of smell and hearing is unmatched and their bite is both nasty and possibly tainted with the dust of ancient graves.

In Game: The Hounds are fast, very fast. They can whip across the tabletop bringing ruin to your opponents plans in moments.

Having said that they are not tough and won’t withstand a decent blow from a skilled opponent.

Their bite, whilst not terribly damaging, can cause a very nasty form of grave rot that drains life from those unfortunate enough not to be able to resist the infection.

They also have the ability to bring down foes in true hunting dog style and in a pack they can make a real mess of any Character unfortunate enough to be their target.

Having said this they are cowardly and are likely to retreat if their opponent puts up too much of a fight...
Guardians of Set

Personality: The Guardians of Set are the local workers and their families, drawn to the worship of both Carter and the Avatar. The now dress in garb that reflects the great deity’s appearance and they work tirelessly and fearlessly to achieve the goals they are given.

They wield a variety of weapons, some modern firearms and some more traditional weapons. They can be relied upon to take the fight to those who challenge their dual masters with all the fierce and fanatical energy they can muster.

In Game: The Guardians of Set are quite quick with a Speed of somewhere around 5. Their combat statistics are solid and, much like the Urkin there will be two profiles, one ranged and one more close combat focused.

In general terms their armour won’t be great and they will be somewhat limited in Life so, whilst they can cause a good deal of damage they won’t last long in a pitched battle so choosing where you fight will be important.

They too have canpoic jars but it is yet to be decided whether they will share a common bonus for the two profiles or a random table when they access the jar.

It is also possible that each miniature may have a different jar so, in effect, whilst the two profiles are standard the bonuses from the jars will, in effect, give you 6 different profiles.

I am working on this soon and will let you know what the decision is before too long!

In the next update I will cover the Egyptian Expansion set and, as this includes the awesome Avatar of Set you should find it interesting!

In the meantime here is a piece of art that the talented Mitchell Nolte has done for us that will form the front of the box set when it is produced!



He has really captured the bright light and heat of Egypt and the feel of the piece is really great. Mitchell has a wonderful impressionistic style that both Sebastian and I love so we are very pleased we have him on board to do the art for all the box set covers.

I can’t wait to see the final packaging once the headers and other bits are all in place.

I hope you enjoyed this update and stay tuned for the next one coming soon!

If you have any questions please ask away and I shall do my very best to answer.

Cheers

Pete

 Alpharius wrote:
I'm guessing you haven't seen the Avatar of Set yet then?

And the female Indiana Jones homage?

There are some really nice ones in there!

Update #69

Jun 14 2016
Faction Box Review: The Egyptians Expansion



Hi all,

Here is the next update on the Faction Box Sets. This one covers the Egyptian Expansion box with contains the awesome Avatar of Set!

This set is an interesting one in that it contains the diametrically opposed Characters in Horace and Set. Horace is the epitomy of a Character unsuited to Close Combat whereas Set is amongst the strongest and most damaging Characters available to date in Twisted.

First up a wee reminder about the Canopic Jars.

Canopic Jars: Most Characters in the Egyptian Faction have a bonded canopic Jar. These jars contain the essence of an ancient Egyptian. The Characters can try and access the essences in the jars to enhance their abilities during the game. The type of benefit is determined by the personality of the essence. For example a great warrior might increase close combat attacks and a great strategist might increase close combat defence.

This will be a test of some sort and things may not go well if the test is failed badly.



Horace de Havilland:

Personality: Horace is true British nobility. From a very wealthy and landed family he has been sent along with Carter to see the world and, his father hopes, to come back with a good deal more strength of character than he left with.

Indolent and spoiled, Horace likes nothing better than a good long lounge about with a fine brandy and an even finer “Lady of negotiable affection”. He has accompanied Carter under threats of being disinherited and the long journey has changed him though some might think not for the better.

The long steamer voyage found the surprisingly intelligent Horace cloistered with the volumes of Egyptian history and lore that Carter brought along. He also studied the volumes of Alchemantic treatises and picked up a measure of skill in that area too.

If anything his arrogance and overbearing personality grew as he became more skilled in manipulating the world around him. It reinforced his view that those beneath him were not his equals and in no way should they be treated as such.

On more than one occasion it was only in intervention of Carter that stopped the haughty and proud Horace being forceably ejected from the ship into the embrace of the Mediterranean by an angry sailor he has insulted.

Horace has bonded with the jar of an Egyptian Priest of Horus. This personality increased his Alchemantic powers to new heights but it also means he suffers from the ancient and deep enmity for Set that the Priest once held. Horace actively works to undermine Set’s works while at the same time supporting Carter who he realises is his best chance at survival and, more importantly, his ticket home to England where he can fully stretch his wings and show his father who is now the Lord of the manor...

In Game: Horace, as is common for the Egyptians is quite fast however his Close Combat Statistics are barely much better than that of an Urkin.

He is quite a skilled shot however and his “Hispano Long Pistol” is often put to good use. It has a good range and can deliver quite a punch. It doubles as his Close Combat weapon with a wickedly sharp blade slung under the long, finely crafted barrel.

Horace also owns a particularly fine mechanical hawk, purchased for a king’s ransom from a Persian dealer in mysterious antiquities. It is likely quite ancient, yet it appears as though it were manufactured only weeks ago.

He can use this to effectively initiate Close Combat from a distance, sending his Hawk to do the dangerous work whilst Horace stays safely out of harms way. Controlling the Hawk does take some concentration though so it rather limits the Actions Horace can take whilst it is engaging a foe.

Horace is a fairly good Alchemancer with a specialty in Air and Fire so he can lend support when needed, aiding those he feels worthy and weakening those who he feels are “lesser” men.

He is, however, quite cowardly and can’t be relied upon if things take a turn for the worse...
Indigo Ford:

Personality: Born in Africa, Indigo, spent her youth working amongst the local tribes and hunting with her father, learning the skills needed to survive in the harsh desert environments.

Carter employed the young woman when he found her engaged in a rather raucous bar fight in Cairo. He needed a skilled guide who could understood the “natives”, as Carter called them. Someone who could take care of the workforce whilst Carter concentrated on his research.

Indigo fit the bill perfectly.

She is a rough and tumble woman, equally at home in a seedy dive as she is in a steaming jungle or the terror of a desert storm. Almost preternaturally agile she has long ago learned that keeping on the move in a fight is important if one is to avoid swinging fists and, perhaps more importantly, knives.

The local workers quickly learned that trying to challenge Indigo’s orders quickly lead to a swift and painful boot to the nether regions followed by some strong Arabic Liquor to get the offender back on his feet. Indigo doesn’t hold a grudge - once a matter is dealt with it is over.

Always keen for a bit of adventure, especially when it paid as well as Carter was offering she has developed a keen eye for valuable antiquities and has amassed quite a collection of “ill gotten gains” to keep her quite comfortable for a good long while.

Indigo is intensely practical and it is under her watch that many of the over zealous excesses the Guardians of Set might engage in have been thwarted. She knows that her best interests are served by Carter’s continued success but there are ways to do that which do not cause undue chaos and more importantly bring unwanted attention. Having said that if someone needs shooting Indigo won’t hesitate...

Her Canopic jar contains the spirit of an extremely skilled female Charioteer and she can benefit from her agility and surefootedness in times of extreme need.

In Game: Indigo is quite skilled in both Close Combat and Ranged Combat. She can hold her own with the best fighters for a short time but, if trapped in prolonged combat with a heavily armoured foe she might suffer somewhat.

Her Finesse is very high - probably around 7 so she can leap about the table with some measure of surety and is quite likely to avoid the worst effects of template weapons unless she cannot get clear.

She carries a .50 calibre “Webley Culervin” revolver which is more than capable of punching through steel plate and flesh alike.

Her secondary weapon is a long whip with a wickedly sharp golden tip which she wields with great skill. This is generally used to get the attention of her workers rather than belabour them and Indigo is very skilled at using it to restrain rather than harm. It can be used to great effect to cause damage when she desires however.

Indigo has a few special abilities that are of note.

She can use her whip to swing from one building to another with great agility she also has the ability to avoid any traps or ensnarements she comes across.

She also has the “Lucky” ability that gives her a number of re-rolls per game which she can use as she sees fit.

Of most interest is her ability to try and ensnare the weapon hand of an opponent with her whip which not only gives them a penalty on Close Combat but allows her to take a free shot at them with her pistol!
The Avatar of Set:

Personality: The Avatar of Set is an ancient god incarnate. He is both evil and cunning.

Whilst he has been cowed somewhat by Carter he knows that his malign influence will soon take effect and, when the time is right, he will take control and the world will learn to fear him.

He wants the nodes for he knows truly what they represent and that to control them is to control the world. Once he has that control there will be nothing beyond him and a great darkness shall come.

For the moment he is content to bide his time. For a being as ancient as Set a year or two is but the blink of an eye...

In Game: Set is truly a powerhouse in Close Combat and is no slouch on the Alchemantic front either.

Speed wise he is slower than most of the Eqyptians but he can use bursts of “Supernatural Speed” to close rapidly with his foes when needed.

The Avatar of Set has plenty of Life and no Wounded state so he takes a lot of punishment before being banished.

He will be able to emit a “Howl of the Desert” that weakens the resolve of his opponents.

One thing to be aware of with the Avatar though is that he is at his most powerful when surrounded by worshippers. Should he be separated from his followers he begins to weaken so whilst he is the most powerful Character available to the Egyptians he does rather work against their greatest asset - their mobility.

Used carefully and wisely though he is likely to make your Company a very tough proposition for any foe.
Guardians of Set

These guys were covered in the last update but I will repeat this here for the sake of completeness.

Personality: The Guardians of Set are the local workers and their families, drawn to the worship of both Carter and the Avatar. The now dress in garb that reflects the great deity’s appearance and they work tirelessly and fearlessly to achieve the goals they are given.

They wield a variety of weapons, some modern firearms and some more traditional weapons. They can be relied upon to take the fight to those who challenge their dual masters with all the fierce and fanatical energy they can muster.

In Game: The Guardians of Set are quite quick with a Speed of somewhere around 5. Their combat statistics are solid and, much like the Urkin there will be two profiles, one ranged and one more close combat focused.

In general terms their armour won’t be great and they will be somewhat limited in Life so, whilst they can cause a good deal of damage they won’t last long in a pitched battle so choosing where you fight will be important.

They too have canpoic jars but it is yet to be decided whether they will share a common bonus for the two profiles or a random table when they access the jar.

It is also possible that each miniature may have a different jar so, in effect, whilst the two profiles are standard the bonuses from the jars will, in effect, give you 6 different profiles.

I am working on this soon and will let you know what the decision is before too long!

Here is the fantastic box art by Mitchell Nolte.



I particularly like Horace in this image but Mitchell has really managed to capture the dynamic feel of the Egyptians again!

There is but one Faction Box left to cover and that is the Guild of Harmony. I hope to be able to bring that to you soon but in the meantime it’s back onto the rules for me.

Cheers
Pete

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Gentlefolk Lancer

New Terrain

To celebrate the launch of the Twisted Pledge Manager, we have 2 brand new laser-cut buildings available: 'Abbott & Gillard - Moneylenders', plus 'The Assay Office'. As usual these have been masterfully designed by the creative maestro Craig Clarke at CNC Workshop! These new terrain pieces can be added to your pledge for AUD$20 each.