FINAL 48 HOURS! Stretch Goal Unlocked: The Vertical City , plus more updates
about 5 years ago – Sat, Feb 02, 2019 at 06:45:50 PM

Lets keep the train rolling folks! We are in the last 48 hour stretch, and the more we can blow this thing up the more epic the final stretch goal will become! If you're on the minis only or terrain only level and interested in gettin all-in, now is the time. Also, please share this KS anywhere an everywhere you think interested folks might be, to the benefit of us all!

I spent all day getting some cool stuff ready to show you, so lets get to it!

Stretch Goal Unlocked: The Vertical City

From the time I posted this bonus stretch goal to the time it was unlocked was about 12 hours, so as you can imagine I didn't have a lot of time to prepare models. HOWEVER I did plan for some of this believe it of not, particularly in the minis department so I do have some stuff I can show you now. This stretch goal will harken back to the main initial theme of this campaign- The dark elves!

The terrain will consist of a modular stalagmite/stalactite dwelling system - where your adventurers can explore a sprawling cave city floor by floor! This will probably be the last thing released from the campaign, as this will take me a while to prototype and build out - but expect options for stalactites "suspended" in the air with acrylic rods as if they are hanging from the ceiling of a cavern, stalagmites obviously, bridges for interconnectedness, and maybe a bit 'o scatter to fill em up. I have had lots of requests for grids, which I didn't do initially for all the buildings, so expect these to be gridded for playability.

Onto the minis - by popular demand we have a few mount options! The Axe Beak from earlier in the campaign is now saddled as well to go with the saddled lizard, and a spider mount is in the works as well. In addition to to the saddled mounts, we'll have dark elf infantry riding each of the mounts!  Additionally we have some brand new dark elves to fill out your ranks: 2 new styles of male warrior and 2 varieties of male wizards. The male wizards are some of my favorite models of the campaign so far. Also being added are a few new dark elf arachnid models (including a female), a very cool (work in progress) Stone golem/elemental. And last but CERTAINLY not least, I worked out a deal with my friend Justin from Arsenal Tabletop to include their not-yet-released EPIC minotaur model for backers! I'm VERY excited about this, and a minotaur was one of the most requested additions.

Here's a few pics! Sorry for shit quality, life's a blur these last 48 hours

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Gray Dwarf Pictures

Spent some time printing/painting up some of the Gray Dwarf stretch goal items! Forgive the rushed paint job but.. ya know... busy KS going on ;-)

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Spider Queen - Dark Elf Form

The Spider Queen can take multiple forms - the arachnid one , which we already showed, but also that of a beautiful Dark Elf. We are wrapping up that model now, which was unlocked as part of the Spider Queen Cometh stretch goal. We used the same face as the arachnid one for consistency - so if you have her in your campaign, your players can encounter her in multiple of her forms!

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DungeonSticks

I have had lots of people ask about my future plans for DungeonSticks, so wanted to address that quick. The goal of this KS is to fill out ALL cavern use cases for them and so far there are quite a few. I developed a "starlink" star-shaped peg for more geometric locking formats too, and after the KS wraps up I'm going to move onto making buildings, dungeons, and more with that format. If you have ideas for DungeonStick sets you would like to see, shoot em at me! I'll be converting my existing Dwarven halls, and making regular dungeons, tombs, sewers, an all manner of buildings but that is not a project in the scope of this Kickstarter.

Gray Dwarf Entrance - I just released an entrance to match the Gray Dwarf stuff, and will add some steam-punky wall tiles to match everything else as well. On thingiverse now.

Spider Fence - Also wrapping up a set of fencing to protect your dark elf family houses - printable with slot for optional webbing. Just gotta make a gate thingy for it and I'll get it released.

Stretch Goal Unlocked: The Gray Dwarf Outpost, more bonus stretch goals, and expectations for the next few days!
about 5 years ago – Thu, Jan 31, 2019 at 11:58:00 AM

Hot damn this Kickstarter is ramping up faster than I expected - yesterday we unlocked the final stretch goal I had initially planned - WOW. I have been working like a madman to keep up with stuff, and got all the models finalized an added to the images at 5:30am this morning. A few more to finish up that aren't in the KS images on the campaign page but ARE posted in the imgur render galleries as well.

For this update I don't have any painted stuff to show, as I just couldn't keep up with the snowball of the KS *but* I have it all printed and hope to share some painted gray dwarves in their environment later tonight (It all printed and looks GREAT!).

More Stretch Goals!?

The Kickstarter rewards already include almost 90 high-quality miniatures and more terrain/scatter/buildings than you can know what to do with - but why the hell wouldn't we add more!? I'm all about getting the value high here for backers so we'll keep charging ahead with some last minute additions.

I added 2 new "bonus" stretch goals - the first is "The Vertical City", revisiting additional dark elf characters, monsters, and (as the name implies) vertical stalagmite/stalagtite playable structures. And the final end-game stretch goal, "The Abyss Unleashed" - wherein a portal to the abyss is sundered open in the depths of the Skyless Realms and all manner of chaos pours loose. 

I have managed to keep up with relatively quick turnaround for modeling, painting, etc through the whole KS but in these final days chances are I won't be able to show as much of the stuff from the final stretch goals as I would like due to time crunch (I haven't even started on the vertical city terrain but there will be minis to showcase), but I can promise you there's some awesome stuff in store.

My personal goal for this Kickstarter is that I can deliver and offer more bang-for-your buck than you have ever received from a Kickstarter, and feel absolutely thrilled with your investment. I will be working diligently over the next few days coming up to the end of the campaign to keep delivering more new pics, updates, etc so stay tuned, and join the conversation over on the FB group if you're interested! 

UNLOCKED: The Gray Dwarf Outpost

We decided to deviate from the norm and get a little creative here. The idea is that the gray dwarves, similar to their above-ground counterparts, are fine craftsman and leverage technology wherever they can to make their lives better. Being underground, the gray dwarves can leverage natural power sources like lava flows, steam vents, and geothermals to power their lives! You can see lots of evidence in that in the terrain/scatter - the minis we kept a little more generic though so they can be painted/used as regular dwarves in a pinch too.

We have tons of terrain on this one - I worked with another talented artist named Nasos Malodius to help create most of this stuff. Some pieces look complex, but everything is updated, split and designed to print supportless on FDM. Pieces include the large amphitheater-esque city center for assembly, lava boilers and smelting equipment, a modron assembly worktable, various pillars/columns for decor, dressings (like bookshelf, tables, etc, and 2 huts. The huts have interchangeable roofs so you can print/mix whichever designs you like. I haven't prepared any DungeonStick pieces from this but plan to make a few dry cavern pieces with some of the steamworks accessories, and at least one entrance using a door from the hut.

For miniatures, we have some interesting stuff! First, Valandar created 3 gray dwarf warriors. One is designed to hold a double-handed battle axe, but the other 2 have sockets in their wrist and the hand/weapons print separate so you can make more variety. Weapons include a single-handed axe, pickaxe, and hammer. Next, Nasos made a set of gray dwarf female warriors (one of whom is bearded, as is the dwarven way!). Rounding out the gray-dwarf society, we have a few "thane" style models, designed as clerics or scholars. Our friends at Evocatus Minis (more on them below) joined the party with an epic sculpt of a Beastly Cave Stalker to keep the gray dwarves on their toes!

Here's a few combined renders to hold you over till I can get some printed/painted pics up later:

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Community Artist Spotlight: Evocatus Miniatures

Evocatus is relatively new to the 3d printable tabletop game, recently starting up an awesome Patreon - though they have been working in tabletop gaming for a while, helping Tiny Furniture by modeling items for their Tiny Market Square project. Evocatus' style fits perfectly on the table - their Patreon is new but already has some amazing models that are in my print queue. They sculpted the ultra-detailed "Beastly Cave Stalker" for this stretch goal, and I'm very excited to get it painted up (it printed perfect on my Photon). They will be focusing on various high-quality miniatures (human/humanoid and monsters of all sizing). They also recently did a sweet mounted dragon head, so expect some fun surprises from them! Be sure to check them out!

Stretch Goal Unlocked: The Deep Gnome Mining Camp
about 5 years ago – Wed, Jan 30, 2019 at 06:54:22 PM

We are still cooking, and looking to unlock the last pre-announced stretched goal in the last 4 days! Just unlocked was the Deep Gnome Mining Camp! The Deep Gnomes work tirelessly in the depths mining veins of precious minerals and ore.

New terrain includes a carved stone house, mine carts (full and empty), mine posts, a mine plateau including an entrance to further depths, and last is a winch system heading down into a deep mine shaft.

For minis, we have 3 variant Deep Gnomes, a snail mount for the gnomes, complete with unmounted and mounted version (where the gnome riding is using a pole to dangle a spider in front of the snail. Also included is a "rock beast" - a monster that can move through stone and is fiercely territorial.

Finally, there's a set of new DungeonSticks to complement including dry cavern walls with ore veins,  mine support pieces and 2 new entrances: a wooden mine support archway and a gnomish door! Check those out HERE.

Here's some painted and staged shots with most of the stuff from this stretch goal (just missing the plateau)

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Printed / Painted Gnolls

The title says it all.. check em out!

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OpenForge Release

Today I just release a themed item on OpenForge - a cavern entrance set piece. Check it, and OpenForge, out if you're interested : You can view it on Thingiverse HERE:

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Community Artist Spotlight: Ronald Bondoc

Ronald is a very talented illustrator and modeler, whose skills bring us the full complement of Gnomes and gnomish snail riders! He has amazing attention to detail, and will be producing some additional models for us in this campaign for a future stretch goal!  You can see more of his work and follow him on his Instagram HERE 

Quick Update (FB Group, Hero's Hoard Coupon, BackerKit)
about 5 years ago – Tue, Jan 29, 2019 at 12:42:16 PM

Gnome Mining Camp - COMING SOON

We had some hiccups with a backer error and falsely thought we unlocked the Gnome Mining Camp a few days ago, but looks like we're finally there! I'm working tirelessly to finish models and print/paint and will post a full release update for that one later tonight. I'm also simultaneously working on the Grey Dwarf Outpost, so if (when?) that one is unlocked I should have lots done to show right away. Thanks for your patience, I promise the models will be worth the wait! (And the wait means that the models will be FINISHEd and ready to be included with backer rewards right after KS funds clear)

I did release the below Gnomish Door for DungeonSticks on Thingiverse this morning, and have more DungeonSticks coming tonight as well.

FB Backers Group

I did this for my last Kickstarter and it worked great. I created a backer group on Facebook you are all welcome to join right now - perfect for sharing prints, ideas, troubleshooting, etc. For those of you who are not on FB I apologize - I am one guy that does this as a hobby biz and I don't have the bandwidth to maintain multiple communities, so FB is where I can focus my time/attention. You can check out the group right now and request to JOIN HERE

Add-on Changes and Pledge Manager

To make my life easier I am going to use BackerKit for pledge manager, add-ons, and late pledges. To that end I'm able to modify what add-ons are available. With your pledge you can now add any number of EC3D previous premium sets at a rate of $5 / set (which is substantially cheaper than their $8.95 list price). You can also get all 12 sets for $50, which is the best deal. The only change from what was initially published is that you can get between 1 and 11 of the sets for $5 /each (versus just getting 6 of them for $30). 

Hero's Hoard Coupon

If you just can't wait to get your hands on EC3D premium sets OR you want to get any of the other awesome stuff on Hero's Hoard (such as additional scatter sets, or True Tiles) you can take advantage of a 15% off coupon for everything on heroshoard.com, valid for 1 week starting right now : SKYLESSREALMSKS

Glorious, glorious dragon of the deep, group pic, and expectations for the hectic next 7 days
about 5 years ago – Sat, Jan 26, 2019 at 10:07:12 PM

Happy Saturday! I previously showed the Dragon of the Deep that was unlocked as part of the "Crystal Grotto" stretch goal but renders don't do this thing justice - here's a fully painted version printed on an Anycubic Photon, assembled, and attached to the included 4" crystal base. This guy is designed to print easily on FDM w/ an integrated base as well. Behold it's glory:

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Expectations for the next crazy week

Things are going *great*, and I have managed to keep up with showing stretch goal unlocks/releases. I have tons of amazing contributors helping me with content but I'm still doing the vast majority of terrain design and all the test printing/painting. It's always been important of me to show as many pics of real finished pieces as I can. It has let to many crazy long nights but I'm very proud of what backers will be receiving. 

All that said, we are almost caught up to what was modeled in advance and at rapidfire pace. I tried to plan stretch goal cadence to match what I expected from the Kickstarter with my sincere plan to include/unlock every single one as part of this campaign, which I'm confident we'll do (and then some, with some special stuff planned!) I'll be able to show a lot of the unlocked stretch goals over the next week but I am but one man so bear with me as things get crazy - I'll be getting stuff out as fast as I an, and many of the stretch goal minis are already ready to show off when we get there, so stay tuned!

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What's your pledge gonna get you?

You've seen what's been released thus far, and what's in the core pledge but as a reminder we have over 70 minis unlocked and almost 100 pieces of terrain/buidings/scatter, with an estimated ~20 more minis and lots more scatter to come. Lets blow this thing out of the water, so please share wherever you think is appropriate and lets get the main stretch goals unlocked and blast open some special unlocks at the high end!

I took everything I have printed/painted for this campaign so far and assembled it all on a table to take a few photos. The below photos encompass around 65-70% of the content unlocked/included thus far (excluding DungeonSticks which are not pictured), to give you an idea of the scope of the Skyless Realms, with much more to come! Everything you see below is designed, tested, and ready to be delivered immediately when funds clear a few weeks after the KS ends.

As usual, shoot any interesting ideas you might have in the comments. I can't promise I'll include all suggestions but I'm interested in hearing them all! Also, if you have not done so yet follow EC3D on Facebook more even more updates, free monthly drawings, and more.