The Witch Light
Prize Draw #2 Winner
Each month there is a chance to win a copy of Oathsworn: Into The Deepwood and this month's draw winner is:
Will Jordana
Congratulations Will we'll be in touch
Prize Draw #3
This month another copy of the game is up for grabs, you don't need to do anything to enter just High 5 your past self for signing up to the Oathsworn Newsletter. We'll be revealing the winner next month
Rolling the Bones
Rolling the Bones is the place you'll find information on the game mechanics that make up Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood. In this issue we're looking at - How You Survive A Monster Attack
So you're about to be eaten... Last month we left off with 12 tons of meat barrelling towards you and you were about to die. Lets talk defences. Now, you don't turn up naked to a monster fight and as you progress you will constantly be tweaking and upgrading your armour and gear load out to maximise your passive defences. Every bit of defence counts as you only ever have a total of 6 Hit Points to lose before things get really dark. Even the best dark iron plate only has limited effect against the jaws of these creatures, relying solely on your armour is a sure-fire way to get you killed.
Thankfully, you are the best mankind has got, proven in fire and honed in blood, you are not without your own skills. This is where ability cards come in. Every time you suffer an attack you may (before damage is rolled) play up to 1 ability card from your hand to gain an additional amount of defence depicted on the bottom of the card. In this you trade its future offensive potential for an immediate defensive bonus.
Here is a little example of how an attack may go against the Ursus. The Ursus ability 'Batter' has 2 Defence. The Ursus has Defence 3 from her plate armour. She uses Batter to defend herself and her defence is now 5 for this attack. The enemy rolls 12 Damage. Damage in Oathsworn is divided, not subtracted, so you divide the damage done by the defence of the target. This means your effective hit points go way up with each small increase in Defence. In this case 5 goes 2 and bit times into 12 (we ignore the remainders) so our Ursus would lose 2 Hit Points. If the Ursus had not played that ability card she would be dividing the 12 damage by 3 (the defence of her armour) causing her to lose 4 of her 6 Hit Points, a serious injury...
Choosing the right card to play when you're attacked is gambling with your life. You must decide whether holding onto that powerful attack card is worth the incoming damage you may suffer. Sometimes you can get away with playing no card at all...sometimes you can't.
Occasionally leaning on your own strength is not enough, you maybe out of cards, or facing some nightmare too horrid for even your defences. This is where you are thankful you have a Free Company at your back and interrupts play their part.
Interrupts (depicted by the upraised hand), such as the Ursus 'Bite' card above, can be used outside of turn sequence when their conditions are met. They let your team mates step up and possibly save your life, giving you more defence, hampering the enemy or taking the blow that was meant for you. Interrupts are a vital aspect of teamwork and is often the difference between a new trophy in the hall or a pile of gnawed bones in the Deepwood. Survival in Oathsworn is far from a sure thing. New Free Company members are often called '60 seconders' as that is how long they tend to survive first contact with a monster. It takes more than a blade and a plate on your chest to mean you'll be collecting your first payday so keep your wits about you.
Free Company Corner
Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood has an array of characters that can form a Free Company. Each character is thoroughly unique with their own ability decks and special attributes. Each month we are going to look a little closer at these individuals, this month the immense Ursus is up
The Ursus Warbear
The Ursus is a sight to behold on the battlefield, wielding the mightiest of weapons and clad in iron she is a monster in her own right. Her special ability Apex Predator allows her to empower her blows with primal strength and her natural toughness means she gains far greater defense from ability cards than any human would. Equally adept at dealing damage or tanking for the team the Ursus can knock her foes about the board and has even be known to toss her enemies into oneanother and topple obstacles onto the prey beneath.
Community Coverage
We had a number of video releases this month as well as some more that will be coming in the next week or so. If you have not seen them check these out.
On Table Top - Sculpting Miniatures Interview with Toby
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTGiOa8wJBc
Roll for Crit Interview with Shadowborne Games @ Gen Con 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JOdAgLEz-4
Speed Drawing of a New City Map by Francesca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUx_us6uOw4&t=7s
Rob over at Rob's Tabletop World mentioned us in his top picks from GenCon video at time 1.40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojhhbGFf5gY&t=2s
Conventions - GenCon
GenCon was everything we had hoped it would be and more, the booth was forever full, we all lost our voices after the first day but still people kept coming. It was 4 days fuelled by adrenaline and little else as lunches sat uneaten whilst the demo's rolled on. We met so many kindred spirits and finally got to meet many of you who we had in mind the long years we worked on the game in our shadowy cave. Thank you to everyone who came and played a round of 'whack a rat', our condolences to those who did not survive. All told there was over 1000 new people added to our ranks of subscribers in those 4 days. We're at over 2600 brave souls now and want to thank you for being the blade at our side.
Fableman's Tales
In an ale-soaked tavern in the fortress city of Bastone, Fableman Tarren is still telling fables for a fleck of iron. If you have any questions on life in the Deepwood, go buy him a round and you might find what you're looking for.
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2210850/fableman-tarrens-table
Over the next two months we will be gearing up for the greatest adventure yet, the Kickstarter campaign. For now keep one hand on the wire road and one on your sword.