USS Freedom

March Update
over 3 years ago – Fri, Apr 02, 2021 at 11:46:26 PM

Hello Crew,

We hope we find everyone healthy and safe, and we hope you had a wonderful and productive month! 

Our focus is almost exclusively on opening the Pledge Manager for you as soon as possible and we cannot wait to see your reaction to some of the options that will be available! In the next few days, we will have a final cost from our manufacturer and we will be ready to open the Pledge Manager so stay tuned! 

We can now confirm that we will have the Miniature option for the 16 Deathtouched Heroes and the Acrylic option for all Heroes (including the Deathtouched), Aliens, and Monsters.

Lets see some more of our new crew members!

Heroes

Stea

Stea was an astrophysicist who was mocked for her beliefs and obsession with finding patterns where others could see only chance. She gave lots of warnings of an imminent threat of alien invasion, but of course she was laughed at and ridiculed by the scientific community. Her belief was so strong that she was determined to be ready for the enemy, so she learned everything she could about warfare, martial arts, and firearms. She used her knowledge of physics, her brilliant mind, and all of her resources to augment the Earth technology of weapons and create devastating prototypes. She was the first one to enter the USS Freedom and join the fight to save Earth.

Stea is a powerful mid-range DPS Hero that can deal tremendous amounts of damage to the enemy. She is particularly good at fighting multiple enemies with her crossbow-like blaster and prototype grenades. Her laser-whip can bypass even the toughest armor with ease and bring down even the sturdiest of foes. Her small stature and need for high maneuverability doesn't allow her to wear heavy armor and thus she requires protection from the strongest heroes in her team. 

On board the USS Freedom, she is one of the best shooters on the whole roster of heroes; she manages to remain calm and cautious in even the most dire situations and she manages to deal at least some damage to the enemy even with shots that seem to have missed. 

Pierce

Growing up to one of the most infamous and dangerous neighborhoods, Pierce got into trouble in almost all the possible ways to get into trouble; he even invented some new ones! He did some time in jail and that was all he needed to get some new perspective. He needed to find somewhere to channel all his energy and anger but he wouldn't risk losing his freedom again. And thus, an MMA career started. It took him 19 undefeated fights to get a fight with the world champion. 

Well, guess what happened on his way to the fight? An alien invasion. A freaking alien invasion that took away his chance at the title. When USS Freedom fell, he was the one to kill the surviving aliens with his bare hands. Now for the first time in his life, he fights for something other than himself. He fights for a purpose. To take revenge on those that took away his chance for the title...and saving the Earth, of course.

Pierce is the perfect balance between a high DPS hero and a resilient tank hero. His high tech armor not only provides excellent protection from blows and blasts, but also checks his vitals and heals him while he is fighting without ever having to stop. If a ground combat is going to last longer than usual, make sure to draft Pierce as he will surely go the distance. 

On board the USS Freedom, he is most useful on the shields as that is the job with the most hard labor. His will and stamina are unbending and he can continue to work towards his goal with no rest when all others would be too exhausted to be useful. 

 Lodestone

Lodestone is not its real name. On its planet, it is called something quite unpronounceable—for humans or any of the known aliens, at least. Its planet is hidden somewhere in the outer rim of this universe far away from the alliances or wars of all the carbon-based so-called "living" aliens. Talking about its past is not something that it finds "resourceful;" from the few things it has shared, we know that it comes from a planet of sentient machines striving to find purpose through achieving experiences and self-inventing their own "virtues." They travel the galaxy improving themselves and striving to mimic the aliens they encounter in order to experience and assess their culture and way of life. The crew of the USS Freedom stumbled upon the severely-damaged Lodestone while it was losing a fight against a huge Lobsterosauros. They saved it, and its purpose is now defined as serving as a crew member on the USS Freedom until it believes it is no longer needed. Protecting any member is its primary objective and it is now more human than many of the carbon-based crew. Still it has not decided if it will upgrade into a she or a he…

Pious, wise, compassionate when someone needs a friend. Valorous, protective, and relentless are the faces it will show to its enemies. Its damage is not to be neglected, however it is tough and its most important asset is most probably its huge shield. The shield can create a protective tracking "magnetic" field that draws all fire to it, effectively protecting all allies. This is where it took its "Lodestone" nickname from. It is the best Tank Hero of the crew and can save any Hero from destruction...except maybe itself.

February Update
over 3 years ago – Tue, Mar 02, 2021 at 08:52:32 AM

Hello crew,

February is almost gone, and we have tons of work to do setting up the pledge manager and making all necessary arrangements to decide how to move forward. Of course, things are always kind of slow in February due to Chinese New Year plus the COVID situation around the world is slowing things down as well. We need to get responses on one or two critical issues before we make the important decisions about our future movements.

If we are to proceed with either Miniatures and/or Acrylic Standees (skinny minis), we have to secure both great quality and great price. If we cannot, then we will not proceed with one or both of the two. So, we need some more time in order to be sure of what we will be able to offer. 

That said, the pledge manager will open sometime in the first half of March, and we will let you all know with a special update when it does.

Now for the rest of the briefing, let us introduce to you three new recruits. We found them all on some God-forsaken planet during our journeys.

Pnevma

“Everything went white just for a second, and now my ears are buzzing. There are ruins all around; the station is burnt down to ashes… Oh, there was a terrible explosion, now I remember…  Am I the only survivor? I must be… My head is aching but it’s not fear that I’m feeling… it’s power… I think that I’ve finally managed to decipher Aether. My life’s work is destroyed, but it feels like I inhaled the knowledge…It’s like it runs through my veins… It’s like I am one with Aether now. Now that I’ve found my breath again, I need to find new purpose. I better keep my suit intact though…”

Pnevma is a dedicated support character who can elevate the efficiency of the team like no other. She can not only augment her team members' abilities by making them stronger or faster, but her ability to manipulate Aether leaves nothing to chance. She can give every crew member access to any of their special abilities as long as she has enough Aether. Her value is undeniable both in combat and during space flight aboard the USS Freedom. She needs to be protected from harm though. A torn suit is an omen of woe...

Phantom

“I like being one with the shadows. I like that no one knows the color of my eyes or the style of my hair. I am faster than the winter’s breeze, and my blade is colder than ice. I can disappear in a blink of an eye, and let you think that I was a vision, something your mind made up. I can be your worst nightmare, and at the same time your savior. You only have to choose if you’re going to be by my side or stand in my way.”

One of the most agile characters, Phantom can move across the battlefield with ease and sneak past enemies without them ever noticing. No path is blocked or forbidden for him. His ability to teleport not only himself but any of his allies can be the key to victory on missions where you need to get in and get out as fast as possible or without alerting guards. When the time for combat inevitably does come, he doesn't shy away from a fight. His sword's edge is pure energy that can cut through any metallic or organic matter with ease, and he can deal huge amounts of damage to any foe. But do not think that his skills are restricted to combat. He is an excellent engineer that can handle the engine of the ship as few can—after all, he crafted his high tech armor from scratch.

Shell

“I’ve always been different. I’ve always found machines exciting, magnificent, magical! That is not something I share with anyone on my planet; I am considered ridiculous by their druidic way of life. I’ve found comfort in machines since I was young; it seems like they understand me in a way that no one else could. Today is probably the best day of my life… an amazing spaceship landed on my planet. It had a damaged wing and I helped repair it. Well, to be honest, if it wasn’t for me, it would be still damaged! Now I am a member of the USS Freedom’s crew, and for the first time in my life, I feel like I am home.”

Shell is an engineer with unquenchable passion towards machines and their improvement. Her gadgets can assist in almost all situations and help her teammates achieve their goals with ease. She helped Phantom create his teleportation device, and of course kept the blueprints for herself as well! She also helped Pnevma incorporate gadgets into her suit that will help her manipulate Aether with ease; this is how limitless Shell’s genius is. She is a support character that can copy her teammates’ abilities, augment their powers, and even influence the Aether's flow in them.

So, these are the additions to our crew! What do you think? Who are you most excited to play and explore their capabilities? Let us know in the comments! 

We will talk again soon; until then stay safe and keep playing!

January Update
almost 4 years ago – Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 11:53:32 PM

Hello Crew,

Happy New Year to everyone! We wish you all a productive new year full of positive emotions and success in all aspects of your lives! Above all, we wish for everyone to be healthy, and that 2021 will leave all the worries of 2020 behind. Stay safe, stay healthy, and keep playing board games!

You will soon receive a Kickstarter survey from us.  It is important to note that this is not the final one; you will be sent the final one from BackerKit in a few weeks. We are sending this survey because we want your opinions on a few decisions we are considering.

We want to know your thoughts on offering 16 unpainted plastic miniatures for the 16 new Heroes. You will be able to add them as an Add-On in your pledge manager. We will have the estimated price in the survey and we need to know how many of you would be interested. Let us show you a painted miniature from Aeolis, our previous board game, that will be delivered soon :)

We are also considering the option of converting all the standees to acrylic standees and we want to know what percentage of you might be interested. Again, you will be able to add this option as an Add-On in your pledge manager. We will have the estimated price in the survey and we need to know how many of you would be interested in this. Let us show you an example of how the acrylic standees would look.

To know our audience's opinion on those matters is the sole purpose of this survey.

Since we just started the new year, we thought it would be appropriate to show you some new content. We had lots and lots of requests for more information on the new crew members of U.S.S. Freedom!  The crew is augmented with three new Heroes, so let's go check them out!

Hammer

A character with lots of strength who focuses on melee combat. Any damage he takes empowers him as he uses his pain to steel his resolve. He is the most damaging tank character there is, and the thrill of the fight is constant as careful management of his current HP is crucial for him to be effective. 

"An army engineer, Hammer was one of the few Humans that fought in defense of Earth in the first assault of the alien invasion and survived. His Earth name was MacCalister Hammer, or so he says. Now he is know simply as Hammer. Having lost all his fellow soldiers and his family, he fights to save whatever is left from his planet. But survival is not enough for him; he needs to see the alien offenders punished for their crimes."
 

 

Arrowhead
A high dexterity Hero that focuses in ranged combat and stealthy combat. In ground combat, he can deal enormous amounts of physical damage and drop enemies with one arrow if he attacks from stealth. On the U.S.S. Freedom, he is a talented pilot that can make some very impressive maneuvers.
 

"A modern day hunter and technology nerd, Arrowhead was in the right place at the right time and thus survived the onslaught on Earth and boarded the U.S.S. Freedom. He always wears a smile and is positive and optimistic even in the most dire situations. Only during combat does he shows his true pain for the desolation of his tribe."
 

Angel
The tankiest support character in the game. Angel has high armor, high strength, and is able to heal others and himself. His inspirational attitude and natural charisma brings the best out of everyone fighting at his side. His defensive fighting style helps him withstand even the worst of enemy blasts.
 

"Adam was a medical engineer working on prototypes for the Army. He always dreamed of being a soldier and kept himself in perfect physical condition by learning all sorts of martial arts. Now he is defending his fellow crew members with healing from his inventions and by always standing in the front line.  His combat prowess can only be matched by the clever engineering pieces that he keeps adding to his armor. His latest addition gave him a nickname: The Angel."
 

   So those are the three new Heroes for the new crew of U.S.S. Freedom! What do you think of each of them? Who is your favorite ? We can't wait to read your comments!
   So until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and lets conquer the stars !

December Update
almost 4 years ago – Sat, Dec 12, 2020 at 01:19:09 AM

Hello Crew,

Did you miss us? We certainly missed you! Let's have one more of those briefings we so much enjoy! All crew to the bridge!

Since we do enjoy our briefings, we decided to keep them coming every month! We will be keeping you updated on our manufacturing progress, finishing touches on the design and brand new content, including a new Hero every month!

Our communication with you, our backers, is what drives us, what gives us motive and inspiration to create games that you will enjoy. To make that communication even more direct and constant, we are preparing a Facebook Group. By joining, you can be part of the decision making progress through polls, give us feedback and ideas on game design and many many more. Your participation is very important for us, so we hope to see you all there soon!

We have also decided that both late pledges and the pledge manager will be opened sometime during the second half of January.

Secret Bonus Unlock – Extra Alien: the Wandering Merchant.

The campaign might be over, but the surprises are not! We are very happy to introduce to you our latest feature, which is a brand new Alien!

This alien does not care about wars or diplomatic missions or anything. He cares only about one thing: his collections. Coming from a long lost planet, his race has been scattered to the farthest reaches of the universe. His name is "Shhshfssshrs", but since none can pronounce it correctly, he is known as "Lazar, the Collector".

Meeting him is a great opportunity and it can benefit you in two ways. First, his race has an innate attunement to the mystical Aether, a subject he likes to talk about at length. Your Heroes can thus attain a greater understanding of effective Aether manipulation.

The second way is, of course, his amazing collections. He can sell or buy pretty much anything from you on unreasonably good prices. His travelling and collection habits mean that he might prize even the cheapest item as if it were made of diamonds.

Of course, all this can happen only if you are on his good side. If you are not, then...we actually do not know what would happen; no one has ever met anyone who does.

Encounters

Alien Portrait: Aeons

“Death is only the Beginning”

The Aeons are an ancient race whose mastery of necrotic energy has led to an obsession with death. While the Empyreans accept the inevitability of death, the Aeons claim to have transcended it, thus attaining immortality. Despite their seemingly generous offer to share this gift with others, they prove either unwilling or unable to do so. Instead, any outsider that joins their ranks ends up as a Necrothrall.

An Aeon's sole purpose is to extinguish all life, so directly confronting one is tantamount to a death wish. Their devilish form, which blends flesh and metal thanks to unknown means, can withstand most blows with ease, rendering them untouchable unless you are using energy attacks.

They attack at range with rays, beams and blasts, devastating both the body and spirit of their opponents. Any Hero damaged by an Aeon has their Aether abilities disrupted, robbing them of poweful skills and combos. Very few Heroes can endure their devastating attacks and even then not for long.

To win a battle against an Aeon, therefore, you will need more than just a tanky Hero. Position yourselves carefully to avoid your enemy's terrible AoE attacks. Then, unleash a barrage of Energy attacks to ensure a quick victory, before the lack of your Aether powers takes its toll.

Aeons' Starships

The Aeons' disk shaped spaceships are not particularly fast and their odd shape prevents them from performing any but the simplest maneuvers. However, their lust for death is on full display in space as well.

The Aeon ships will rarely fire simple missiles at us; most of their missiles contain deadly viruses that will make our crew sick, rendering us unable to control the USS Freedom properly and eventually killing us all. They will constantly attack our left side to force all of our shield power there. While seemingly predictable, this is a ruse to lull us into a false sense of security. It is said that the Aeons possess a terrifying charging beam called the “Arrow of Death”. This beam can target any section of our ship and there is nothing we can do to evade it. Our only hope is our shields, as even a single damage from this weapon will mean the death of us all in the blink of an eye.

We need to build lots of shield power while still using evasive maneuvers to mitigate damage. Once we are stacked on shields, we should attack with everything we have. Raising shields effectively is the key to victory against the Aeons.

Monster: Nova beetle

A cross between a firefly and a stag beetle, these creatures are rarely dangerous unless provoked, preferring to eat dead organic matter than hunting. When attacked, they will usually burrow into the ground to escape. If, however, this is not possible, or if their nest is threatened, they will attack with light beams or their powerful horn. In desperate situations, they will explode in a ball of energy, most of the time dying along with their opponents.

They are extremely proficient in fighting enemies from all directions, so surrounding one is not a good idea. The best strategy is engaging it in melee with one or two heroes while the rest are attacingk from range. If it does explode its luminous body, it will deal lots of damage to anyone near it, but also to itself. Not a real threat to an experienced group, but it can be deadly if you take it lightly.

Titan: Supreme Behemoth

Known to us only through texts of extinct civilizations, the creature known as the Behemoth is described like something only a deranged god would unleash upon the galaxy. Perhaps the creature actually existed at one time; perhaps it is a myth of a consuming evil that will end life as we know it. Such myths exist in almost every culture of the galaxy, advanced or not. The texts we have describe the Behemoth as a creature so big it can block the light and warmth of a star and so powerful that it can destroy star systems with ease. Though it's likely the texts we have describe another Titan that left a less advanced civilization in awe, the terrifying possibility remains that a creature such as this might exist somewhere in the universe, waiting to descend upon our galaxy.

It is said that a single attack from its terrible jaws can turn the sturdiest spaceship into a mass of metal. There is no shield generator strong enough to protect from a creature of such size and strength. In spite of its size, it is extremely fast and it can maneuver so quickly that it feels like it is in two places at once. Asking advice on how to defeat it is sheer madness. You should be instead asking how to escape from it. Run for your life with everything you have; that is the best advice we can give you.

Binary Ka

One of the weirdest and most beautiful sights on the universe, these rare stars resemble a binary solar system. Their radiation has peculiar mental effects. It is said that researchers who spend too much time on systems orbiting a binary ka begin to feel strange, first forgetting simple things and, as time progresses, becoming unable to form coherent thoughts, flying into rages, or just walking aimlessly without knowing who they are or what to do. These systems were once believed to be home to predators—mainly unintelligent ones since they are presumably immune to the stars' psionic pulse—that patiently wait to devour those that have fallen under the system's hypnotic patterns. More recent theories, however, claim that systems orbiting such phenomena are actually devoid of life, and any monster reports are nothing more than a manifestation drawn to reality by the system’s psionic energy and the subject’s fears. If this proves to be true, civilizations will try to weaponize this power. What better way to defeat your opponent than make them see things that are not there, forcing them to kill themselves?

Update 4 Dec - Thank You !!!
almost 4 years ago – Fri, Dec 04, 2020 at 11:17:06 PM

Update 4 December
Hello crew,

Our campaign has come to an end and we couldn’t be more thankful for all your support and love for us and our project. We couldn’t make it without each and every one of you, and for that you have our gratitude! Let us give you a promise: that we will work as hard as we can to make USS Freedom the board game of your dreams! You are the crew of our heart.

Τhis is not the end of your journey though, it is just the beginning! We have one last briefing with one more unlock and one more Hero!

Daily Unlock Dec 4 – Storyline Campaign with 16 adventures

“And then there were none…”

Some say your worst enemy is yourself. This is literally the case in this voyage of the USS Freedom. When a ghostly intruder invades the ship, you will not know who in the crew is possessed until it is too late. The ghostly intruder will manifest in the heat of battle with potentially catastrophic results unless they are stopped. With the phantom invader leaving the possessed crew member in a coma and invading a new crew member in every mission, it is a race against time to find a way to stop it. Will you manage to discover the solution before you are the last one standing while at the same time surviving all the encounters that the USS Freedom will face? 

In this campaign of 16 adventures, you are going to play a game of cat and mouse trying to catch an incorporeal identity thief! You will feel like true investigators trying to solve a crime before it happens.
The worst part of all is you can’t trust anyone; in the blink of an eye, any ally may turn into a foe. Rush through the mystery and survive long enough to capture this phantom menace. Time is against you as one of your crew is disabled each adventure, and your options are fewer and fewer.

New Crew Hero

“Names are a thing of our past life; they mean nothing now. Just call me Hammer”

The above statement is how Hammer answers at the question, “What’s your name?” Hammer used to be an engineer but not anymore; now he is the vanguard of his team, always eager to be on the front line of every battle. An intense fury fills his soul with every hit he takes in the midst of battle, and he transcends his own nature and becomes an avatar of war through pain. He rarely talks outside of combat. He spends his time using his engineer skills to augment his tools of war, upgrading his armor with power pumps in his legs and arms. He has also placed small thrusters in the back of his hammer to ensure that his hits will daze even the sturdiest of opponents.

On the battlefield, he considers it his honor and duty to protect his teammates as he is the only one who can take any amount of damage and not only survive, but turn it into devastating rage. One smash of his hammer on the ground can knock over not just one but a group of foes, and he can charge across the battlefield with surprising speed despite his bulky armour. 

Aboard the USS Freedom, he can be a great help with the engines but excels at the shield generator. What he does on the battlefield is what he prefers to do in the spaceship: protect his friends. His engineering skills help him amplify the energy that comes from the engine to the generators which in turn means he produces more shields than any other crew member.

Alien Portrait: Mycolords

“Expand. Grow. Thrive.”
Most people who haven't had contact with the Mycolord colonies believe them to be pacifists and maybe push-overs. The truth is that while Mycolords abhor combat and will go to great lengths to avoid it, their unique physiology gives them the ability to colonize otherwise uninhabitable planets. Their colonies expand far into unexplored space, and scholars believe that the amount of land actually colonized by the Mycolords far surpasses all the other races' claims combined. It is unknown why the “Mushroom men” (the rude nickname given by those that ridicule them) want this much land, but sages have found similarities between a planet fully terraformed by the Mycolords and the enigmatic titan known as Leviathan. Maybe the Mycolords are actually the Leviathan's way of reproduction; sadly they are very sensitive on the matter.

Mycolords almost never fight alone. They will have some exodroid guards or they will travel in groups. Their combat tactics are such that take full advantage of their numbers. Also their ability to release spores and poisonous gases allow them to fight efficiently groups of enemies rather than a single target. Their fungal biology allows them to heal at an accelerated rate and thus a long battle is always in their favour.

Mycolords Starship

Mycolords’ starship is a mix of organic material and technological enhancement. They heavily focus on attacking their opponents’ weapon system as they consider this be the perfect balance of offence and defense in their strategy. Other than that to make their attack patterns less predictable they often target the engines as well, as one failure to defend the engines can have catastrophic consequences.

Titan: Leviathan

With the appearance of a humongous fungus that travels through space, the Leviathan is a truly disturbing sight to behold. There is no question that the creature—or to be more precise, colony of creatures—is made of plant matter, and yet it finds itself able to travel through space. Encountered primarily in the system controlled by the Mycolords, similar creatures have been reported in other systems as well. As with most of the Titans, its origins are unknown; unlike them, no theories of its creation or goals exist. The Leviathan travels through space assimilating any life form it encounters to its already massive shape, not unlike a moving, huge disease. Those that have survived its attacks claim that it takes only minutes before its spores assimilate your thoughts and speak horrors of their comrades flinging themselves through airlocks to become one with the huge spongy mass of this moving nightmare. 

Having to fight this weird and unusual creature will put to the test the piloting skills of our crew. Due to its unique nature it can do the most amazing manoeuvres and is one of the fastest if not the fastest titan known. Evading or getting to an advantageous position to strike it will be a very difficult challenge. Additionally, it can produce some fungal spores that will attach to our spaceship no matter what we do to evade them. Maybe shields can help us block the spores before they enter our ventilation systems. Of course those spores are not the only arrow in their quiver; they can produce fungal material that has an identical effect to technological missiles. Lastly, let’s not forget the many horrible diseases that this fungal material carries, which can make all of our crew sick if any of it ever remains in our ship. To have a chance of winning we must give lots of energy to our shields to be as protected as possible. And make sure to repair the ship immediately after it takes damage to get rid of the sickening spores.

Monster: Baryonic Kraken
Resembling a flying octopus, this bizarre creature is one of the known psionically gifted creatures in the galaxy. Not only is it able to levitate itself and shoot beams of energy from its mouth, it can absorb psionic energy from other creatures by attaching its tentacles to them. Its huge, turtle-like head delivers devastating hits to creatures that it immobilizes.

The best strategy against them is to never let them close the distance, though with their speed and energy beams, that may not be enough.
We will need energy attacks and good positioning to defeat a Baryonic Kraken. The strongest of us must corner it and try to survive for as long as possible while the others attack from a distance.

Space phenomena: Wormhole

Often confused with black holes, these tears in reality are something much more dangerous and unpredictable. While wormholes and black holes share many similarities, wormholes are possible to escape from, folding the known universe and thrusting unsuspected travellers millions of light years away. That, however, is the least dangerous aspect a wormhole possesses.

Most of the time, wormholes just exist, like tears in a cloth. If disturbed, they start emitting their gravitational pull from both sides. A ship might escape through one side, but something horrific might be pulled through from the other. Anything from alien and dangerous creatures to titans might emerge from the wormhole, teleported in from the darkest places of the known universe, bringing with them death and destruction. Luck might be our best ally when we are facing such a chaotic threat. We need to be prepared and experienced; otherwise nothing can predict our fate…