The Dead Keep: All-In Bundle (Kickstarter Pre-Order Special)
Preorder: Expected Delivery 2025-04-30
Board Game Geek Avg Player Rating: 9.33
Players: 1 to 6
Published: 2025
Content Notes: Gamefound Exclusive The Dead Keep: All-In Bundle Board Game by CMON. Includes core game, Secret Alcove Expansion, Goblin Chaos Expansion, and Troll Rider figure.
Legends speak of the Dead Keep. Travelers and locals alike spin tales of this accursed locale ’round hearths every evenings. Public houses are always filled with whispers and rum ours about what lies within. And yet, you’ll probably never meet a single soul who has seen the Keep and returned. The many faded names carved into the table you are at is the only reminder of those who dared venture into the Keep. But you? You might be different.
Embark on an adventure with The Dead Keep, a cooperative dungeon diving campaign game designed for 1-6 players. Immerse yourself in the fantastical artwork, crafted from the original designs of renowned artist Paul Bonner. As fearless adventurers, you’ll plunge into the depths of The Dead Keep, driven by the promise of untold riches from the enigmatic Patron. Will you unravel the secrets lurking within, or will the mist claim you.
THE ADVENTURERSMONSTERSNOTABLESTHE UNDEAD
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THE CAMPAIGN
“Legends speak of The Dead Keep. Travelers and locals alike spin tales of this accursed locale ‘round hearths every evening. Public houses are always filled with whispers and rumors about what lies within. And yet, you’ll never meet a single soul who has seen The Keep and returned. The many faded names carved into the table you are at is the only reminder of those who dared venture into The Keep. But you? You might be different.”This campaign takes the players on an adventure through the depths of The Dead Keep. Along the way, Adventurers may accumulate special equipment and talismans to better face the challenges that lie ahead. The Quests become harder as the campaign progresses so it is advisable to stock up on useful Equipment!
At the end of each Quest, players will be faced with a short narrative and two choices that have different outcomes.A full campaign of The Dead Keep consists of 10 Quests. However, in actuality there are 12 Quests in the campaign book. This is because upon successfully completing Quest 8, players will have to make a very important decision which might send them down one of two questlines.
Players may also choose to play each quest by itself, without the campaign mode.ENEMY DECKSThere are two kinds of Enemy Decks in the game:BuildingandStreetDecks. Cards are drawn from corresponding decks when there is a need to spawn enemies on Street Zones or Building Zones.
Each of the decks are also split into level 1 to 5. Level 1 cards spawn easier enemies to deal with, while Level 5 cards may spawn more Undead or spawn Monsters more often. While setting up the game, the decks are placed in ascending order, with the Level 1 cards on top and Level 5 cards at the bottom.
This means that the longer the game goes on, the more difficult it will become to deal with enemy spawns. Certain quests may even necessitate starting the game with a higher level deck.
MANAMysterious magic energies permeate throughout The Keep. This magical energy is particularly potent when standing in Mist Zones or near the Mana Fountains. Adventurers may perform the Gather Mana actions here to claim some of this Mana for themselves.When gathered, this power take the form of Mana tokens that are placed in the Adventurer’s inventory. They may be used to trigger powerful abilities or activate special effects of equipment.
EQUIPMENTWhile all the Equipment in The Dead Keep is unique, they are grouped into four different categories described below!
Adventurer EquipmentThese are a selection of Equipment that Adventurers may choose from at the beginning of each Quest. Certain items may be more suited to defeat specific enemies, so choosing carefully and planning ahead may make your questing less arduous.
Necromantic EquipmentThese are special equipment that are found within The Keep from defeating Undead hordes. When the last Undead of a certain type is defeated in a zone, it drops a Search Token. Adventurers who Search in this zone will then be able to draw from the Necromantic Equipment deck.
Necromantic Equipment is usually more powerful than Adventurer Equipment. This is because their weapon stats can be enhanced when Mana is spent when performing an attack!
Necromantic ArtifactsTheseveryspecial equipment cards are only earned from defeating the most fearsome Monsters, or from looting special treasures in The Keep. They often have very powerful abilities. However, using them costs Mana. (Indicated by the green numbers on their card.) So make sure you’ve gathered enough Mana if you plan on using these weapons!
TalismansThese are special trinkets that grant Adventurers special and useful passive effects during their Quest. To obtain them, Players may trade and sell equipment that they have looted from The Keep during the intermission.Each Adventurer may have up to 3 Talismans equipped at a time, by putting them in the slots on the top most edge of the dashboard.THE MISTMist events are triggered by cards that are scattered throughout the spawn deck. When triggered, they can have one of any of these effects!
Footmen in the Mist!Instead of enemies spawning from their usual spawn zones, Undead Footmen are spawned in Mist Zones on tiles where there are Adventurers. Don’t get caught off-guard!
Mist Burn!The mist swells with power, granting Adventurers 2 mana, yet its overwhelming force inflicts 1 wound upon them as well.
Blinding Mist!The mist becomes thick and heavy, blocking line of sight through it! For 1 game round, no Line of Sight can be traced from, to, or through Mist Zones on the board.THE BOSS (AND DOOM TOKENS)At the end of the Quest, Adventurers will encounter the Boss monster which they have to defeat to win the game. This Boss monster may be pre-defined by the Quest or chosen at random.
A Boss Monster begins the game in anInactivestate, but will becomeActiveas soon as certain Quests conditions are met. As the game goes on, the Boss may become more and more powerful through the accumulation of Boss Stage Cards!
Doom Tokens and Accumulating Boss Stage CardsDoom tokens are accumulated when misfortune befalls the Adventurers. Some examples include:
- Unsuccessfully opening a door
- Spawning a crawler
- Triggering an extra enemy activation
Once Adventurers have accumulated 5 Doom tokens, a Boss Stage card is drawn and the effect on the ‘Inactive’ side of the card is triggered. The card is set aside for later.
When the Boss becomes active, any Boss Stage cards previously set aside are shuffled into a deck. These cards act as a stockpile of additional lives for the Boss!
Any time a Boss is defeated, players need to draw from this deck and apply the ‘Active’ effect. The Boss then heals all its Wounds and teleports somewhere on the board. It is only eliminated when there are no more Stage cards left to draw!If you’re interested in reading more about The Dead Keep, you can access ourwork-in-progress rulebookby clicking on the image below!
–from the publisher
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