G’day, Knights!
It’s been a while since our last update – a while full of development, testing, making artwork and travelling around ruined Australia – but we’re back with some insight about the game. This time we’re going to focus on Wasteland Cards that are the heart and soul of adventure found in Waste Knights: Second Edition.
Where it all started…
It’s the end of the 21st century. Decades ago, as a result of economic crisis, huge swaths of the Australian continent – the seemingly useless ones – were bought from the government by a megacorporation called Cerbero. A couple of years later, the company controlled most of the country, its research facilities, military testing sites and secret outposts dotting the outback. Yet, it was constantly challenged by its corporate rivals and nature itself. Experiments with geothermal power, underground nuclear reactors, AI control of key defense systems, industrial espionage, sponsored terrorist attacks… It seems even Cerbero could not handle all this.
At some point, a series of errors possibly triggered by a complex computer virus caused a number of catastrophic explosions and ruined many Australian cities. With it came much bigger calamity – ambient seismic activity heightened hundredfold by underground experiments and nuclear blasts caused formation of a rift that now divides the continent. Soon, Australia was just a ruined shadow of its former self, its citizens falling prey to raging criminals, natural hazards and uncontrolled corporate constructs.
Now, every bizarre creation kept in check by Cerbero technology, every single failed experiment hidden deep in top secret laboratories can be found roaming the wasteland and adapting itself to new environment. Human survivors are only starting to learn about the price they will have to pay every day for the folly of their predecessors. And they will pay dearly.
Dangers of the Waste
You – as one of the Waste Knights – will have to face every imaginable danger once you choose to hit the road. The challenges are hidden in separate decks of Wasteland Cards, divided according to the type of terrain where you end your Move action. Each deck features a unique mix of Enemies, Hazards and Encounters themed according to the place you visit.
Enemies are the innumerable creatures and miscreants ready to hurt you for your fuel, ammo… or just out of pure spite. Although you can try to evade them, fighting is a chance to gain new gear, necessary supplies and experience for your Knight to develop. Enemies come in an astounding variety: from strange gangs and doomsday cults, through haywire Cerbero automatons to hideous mutants or indigenous animals strangely deformed by omnipresent radiation and toxic hazards. Each of them has its own strengths, special abilities, modes of attack; each can become even more powerful depending on how dangerous the route you choose is and what Threat tokens you draw. All this results in every clash being lethal, furious and… fun!
Hazards represent wrath of nature angered by human impudence. Radiation storms polluting miles of land at once, acid rains capable of corroding metal in a matter of hours, landslides happening for no apparent reason or genetically altered plants that can crush cars as easily as toys… Wherever you are, you must stay watchful as even a seemingly perfect day might end with a storm of apocalyptic proportions. Like with the Enemies, the more dangerous route you take and the faster you travel, the bigger the chances are that you will end up with a wrecked car or bereft of supplies in the middle of nowhere.
Finally, Encounters represent places, people and unusual situations that are the daily bread of daredevil adventurers. Some feature new, unique locations to be added on the game board for all Knights to use, some are just one-time meetings with inhabitants of the Waste. However, ultimately, each card brings with it lots or flavor text, story choices and tests depending on your approach to a given Encounter. Some of them will even enable you to immerse yourself in a much deeper narrative.
The Great Unknown
As the game progresses and you move from the populated, eastern regions of Australia towards the untamed west, far beyond the rift that divides the continent, new cards featuring more powerful creatures and dangers are added to the Wasteland decks and new adventures await your Knight. On top of that, certain Missions defining the goal of the game instruct you to expand the decks with unique cards, thus making every playthrough a truly epic experience.
As you can see, there’s much to explore once you ride into the wild and delve deep into the world of Waste Knights: Second Edition. We hope you’ll enjoy this crazy trip and follow our future updates about the game. As the Kickstarter campaign is getting nearer we will publish more information about the game. Stay vigilant!