75% Funded, 14 Days To Go!
over 4 years ago – Sat, Sep 18, 2021 at 08:53:22 AM

Hello Admirals, 

Today officially marks our two-week countdown to the end of the campaign. It's been a wild journey so far, and I am so thankful for each and every one of you who have backed the Old Salt project so we can get this game out into the real world! This game would not exist without your support. We have officially met our 75% funded mark and I still got a few cards up my sleeve to get the remaining 25%. 

To name a few endeavors I'm working on: 

•  Working with Discord Admins to set up Old Salt watch parties
• Happy Hours at local gaming pubs to demo Old Salt
• Reviewers dropping their content over the next 14 days

And we still have a couple more events left in our Kickstarter. This 25% will be funded in no time!

Riley's Quest! 

Part IX. Fright of the Forest

In the effort of wills, Riley decided she needed to finish this quest "aware" and not in debt to some bloke after losing a game of cherry’s dice.
After one step into the forest the pull to the tavern quickly faded away, she passed the time wondering which god she might have gone with and after a while dwelled on which god she didn’t go with and if they were offended. Realizing that this was not a healthy line of thought, Riley forced her mind to think on other matters. Like how large this island was and how long she had been walking...
Running out of ways to distract herself from this very, very long walk in the forest she suddenly heard a pronounced cracking of sticks to her left and before she had time to panic, 3 figures slithered out from the shadows and onto the moonlit path in the forest. A Barbarian wielding a club and 2 ragged-looking humans appeared. They spoke arrogantly, “We’ll take your stuff unless you’d like to visit the gods sooner than ye need to.”
Riley, honestly exhausted from the day, strained to come up with a plan while acting like she was processing what they said. No way she was going to let these grunts get away with this while she was on a quest, FROM THE GODS. At the same time, she didn’t even have a weapon. Grandpapi had the flute? She could fight this, God's protected her from the storm, why is this any different? The barbarian looked to be in charge. Another option, although both seemed risky, is maybe she could worm her way out of this encounter. If she could talk her way out of a sea monster's tight grip, this shouldn't be too bad, right? She decided the best thing to do was:
Fight it out, remember how the storm encounter went? This is no different.
Or

Talk her way out of this situation, just like the sea monster encounter.
Vote which direction Riley goes by leaving a comment below this update on Kickstarter with the best path forward! Stay tuned for our next update to see what Riley decides to do!

Week Three and Sailing Strong!
over 4 years ago – Wed, Sep 15, 2021 at 03:18:58 PM

Hello Admirals, 

Today we begin week three of our Kickstarter, week three will be a great week for us! We have our 2nd event of the Kickstarter on Tuesday at 7 pm CST where we will reveal the Eternal Mission you all unlocked by sharing Old Salt's Facebook post (nice work on that by the way) and we will play through that. The Twitch stream will be a great opportunity to show off Old Salt gameplay and show off one of my favorite factions, the Eternals.  Invite your crews to see what this swashbuckling game is all about! Link for Tuesday's Live stream: https://www.twitch.tv/oldsaltbg

In the event that you would like Old Salt to come with more faction missions, we have social goals at the bottom of our campaign page that you can partake in to unlock more faction missions (up to 28!). These are a great way to increase the amount of replayability within the game! 

At the time of writing this post we are at 160 backers and just shy of $13,000! Way to go! Thank You to the backers who have been with us on this journey and Thank You to the new backers who have recently climbed aboard! I am so incredibly thankful for each backer. You are helping make this swashbuckling game come to life! 

One of our social goals is the Storyteller. Write a short swashbuckling story on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and use #OldSalt #SocialAdmiral to get it counted! 5 different stories = 1 new faction-specific mission to be included in the game.  

Riley's Quest! 

Part VIII.  A Great Performance

Riley decided it was best not to start her time on the island as a fugitive. After all, she did persuade a giant sea creature the size of this town to let them go free, she would do well here. Riley asked Grandpapi if he had that flute on hand, he looked at her in amazement and exclaimed "I thought you'd never ask!" After getting warmed up on the flute, Grandpapi found a discarded cloth nearby and fitted it to be a bit of a cape for Cat even adding in a little pouch for Cat to collect some coins while they performed; because all good performances dressed their animals to look the part. Their quick journey into the thespian world would be no different. Before long Riley and Grandpapi found their spot to perform, a nice tavern on the edge of the forest where Riley was being pulled to. They took to the stage and dove into riveting tales, legends, and epics that would command the attention of Kings and Queens. By intermission, Cat had gone from strutting around to just laying in one spot as the collected tips weighed just a bit too much for Cats taste.  

When they wrapped up their epics and tales, Riley and Grandpapi were on the top of the world, surrounded by cheers and coins to last a month! The innkeeper herself offering free room and meals as long as they performed. As great as it all sounded, the side quest came to an abrupt halt when Riley's heart pulsed, reminding her of her true quest. To find the portal. Now that she had more food than her crew could carry, it was time to move on. There was no way she would be distracted from a quest sent to her by the gods. 

That is until her heart began to pull in two directions. One pulled back inside the tavern and one pulled deeper into the forest. 

Does Riley head back into the tavern? Or does Riley go into the forest? Vote which direction Riley goes by leaving a comment below this update on Kickstarter with the best path forward! Stay tuned for our next update to see what Riley decides to do!

New Review, Podcasts, and Riley's Quest!
over 4 years ago – Sun, Sep 12, 2021 at 01:38:24 PM

Good morning Admiral,

We have surpassed the 150 backer mark and are steadily approaching 75% funded with 19 days to go! I am very happy with where we are at funding-wise. The way I see it, we have plenty of time to not only fund Old Salt but we have the possibility to get a stretch goal or two unlocked as well!

While not much has changed in the realm of Old Salt I wanted to provide some links to Old Salt media that dropped this week. A new review for Old Salt written by Giaco from Tech Raptor dropped a couple of days ago and from what Giaco told me, Tech Raptor had an incredible time with Old Salt. Here's a quote from the review

 “We left this prototype preview positively impressed, and ready to set sail ourselves.” - Giaco 

If you'd like to read Giaco's review, check it out here: https://techraptor.net/tabletop/previews/old-salt-naval-wargame-prototype-preview

I had the opportunity to be a guest on the House Rules Podcast where we deep-dived into the mechanics of Old Salt and why some mechanics and factions turned out how they did! We also spitballed some ideas that I am really looking forward to playtesting! Definitely check out this week's episode of House Rules Podcast!

I also was invited to be a guest on the Board Game Crawler’s Podcast where we sailed through a lot of great swashbuckling topics and some of the milestones I took care of on my journey to Kickstarter. Lots of banter, lots of laughs that you won’t want to miss!

Part VII. New Dangers But Together

Riley couldn’t imagine doing this quest without her crew. Sure she kicked off the quest intending to do it solo, but they were a source of strength and every good leader has a support network. Riley smiled and gladly invited them to the next part of the journey on the island. While she had no idea what would happen on the island, if she brought her crew, she would be prepared. For what though...she still was unsure what it was they were looking for. The "portal" is what the god had called it, but what was that exactly?

After some time getting the ship anchored little ways offshore, the crew embarked on a quick swim to shore and while Riley was a strong swimmer, she wasn't used to having Cat perched atop her head while she swam. As soon as her foot made contact with the sand, Cat leapt off her head and her heart pivoted directions and then split into 2 directions. Very similar directions, but undoubtedly distinct directions. And then her hunger dawned on her; the crew ran out of food yesterday and that swim took the last of their energy. Food would be required before continuing on. 

As they approached the town, she came up with a couple of options to acquire food with no coin. The first, good old-fashioned thievery. Grandpapi and her quickly could come up with some ploys if they went that route. The second option was a quick oratory performance for some coin at the center of the town square. Didn't Grandpapi go to university for the flute? Maybe he still had the instrument on hand...

Does Riley steal her way to a meal?

Or

Does Riley perform in the town square for some coin to buy food?

Vote which direction Riley goes by leaving a comment below this update on Kickstarter with the best path forward! Stay tuned for our next update to see what Riley decides to do!

Sail on Admiral!

5 Unlocked Missions And The 2nd Event.
over 4 years ago – Fri, Sep 10, 2021 at 02:14:07 PM

Hello Admirals! 

There is not a lot to report on today but we do have an update on the Prefundia Side Quest and we have an updated date for our 2nd event and our next installment of Riley's Quest!

Prefundia Side Quest (Completed) 

Congratulations on getting in the top 3 slots on Prefundia! I am unsure what happened to our project at 11:40 pm CST on Wednesday night, that’s between me and Prefundia but between you and me, we just unlocked 5 new Faction Specific missions to be included in every single copy of Old Salt!!! Congratulations, Admirals! That brings our total to 6 faction missions unlocked. If you'd like more, gather some friends and have some fun with our social goals! Check out the main campaign page for social goals and instructions. 

2nd Event Eternals Faction Specific Mission

Our next event is scheduled for next week on Tabletop Simulator, we are going to be live streaming to twitch.tv https://www.twitch.tv/oldsaltbg at 7pm CST on Tuesday , September 14th. I am excited to show everyone the first unlocked Faction Specific Mission. This mission will highlight the Eternals Transcended ability. Something that not everyone is familiar with and something I often overlook when playing the Etrnals, I can't wait to dive into a mission that really explores it to the fullest extent! 

Sketch created by: https://www.instagram.com/nonasarts9/

Part VI. Around The Problem, Not Through

Riley calls to Grandpapi to raise the merchant’s flag as she spun the wheel portside to avoid the impending onslaught. She had never seen a battle but she had heard stories of how fast they could get out of control. Then she heard the concussive boom of the siege tower’s next attack and the subsequent cannons from warships on the other side of the island. The battle was underway. Luckily though, the battle was centered on one side of the island and neither attacker or defender couldn’t be bothered by a merchant ship when they were taking on water or putting out fires.

Safely away from the battle and a hundred or so yards off of the island, Riley went back to work regarding how to get onto the island. As she began to make her plans, Grandpapi gave a polite yet obvious sound of concern.

She didn’t realize she had planned to get to the island without her crew and now that she thought about it, she wondered if this was a good idea to bring them along to the rest of this quest. The main reason she originally formed the crew was that she couldn’t sail this ship effectively alone. Did she like having a crew to help? Was she able to finish this quest alone? Could she put them in danger on this quest that she was entrusted with? Could she possibly complete this quest alone? Maybe the gods put Grandpapi and cat on this quest for a reason!

Does Riley bring her crew on the next part of the adventure?

Or

Does Riley go the rest of the way alone?

Vote which direction Riley goes by leaving a comment below this update on Kickstarter with the best path forward! Stay tuned for our next update to see what Riley decides to do!

Sail on Admirals! 

Week 2 And Closing In On Funding!
over 4 years ago – Wed, Sep 08, 2021 at 07:28:16 AM

Hello Admirals! We've had an exciting start to week 2 so far. I wanted to take a moment and say Thank you to all the new backers who decided to hop aboard this wild journey! As a heads up, towards the end of each update will be a section for "Riley's Quest." A branching narrative for backers to vote on, set in the world of Old Salt. Riley is on a search for "the portal" and we still aren't quite sure what that is. Check it out below! 

To the backers who have been sailing with us for longer, I also wanted to say Thank you. You are responsible for a great week 1 and setting Old Salt on course to fund and make this swashbuckling game come to life! We are at 137 backers, and very nearly 66% funded with 3 weeks to go!! 

Oh and if you happened to miss our youtube watch party, no worries! Click here to see the match and who won (spoiler, I played quite poorly, but I had a great time). 

 (Optional) Side Quest - Prefundia Update: 

Tonight (Wednesday) is the cutoff date for Prefundia's Side Quest. If we are in the top 3 projects, Old Salt will be spotlighted in their newsletter to +40,000 people, and you will be rewarded 5 unlocked faction-specific missions to enjoy with your copy of Old Salt! Since we've already unlocked 1 mission, that'll be 1 mission for each faction! These missions don't count towards the 9 mission campaign or alternate game modes that'll be included in the game. 

Want more faction-specific missions? - That's great! We have social goals for you to complete and work towards unlocking Faction Specific Missions (up to 28!)

Here's an example of 1 of the 7 social goals available to all backers: 

If you would like to see the rest of our social goals, go to the main Kickstarter page of Old Salt (where the video is) and scroll down towards the bottom are the 7 social goals listed out. 

Riley's Quest

Riley's Quest images created by the talented: https://www.instagram.com/nonasarts9/

Part V. Into the Lions Den?

Before giving the creature a chance to cancel the offer, Riley dives into the story of a mighty beast called a Lion, renowned across the world, a legendary creature such as the creature before her. The immaculate creature ends up getting captured by evil beings only to be rescued by a little ol’ mouse. Prior to capture, the mighty Lion would never have given the mouse a second glance but now the beast was indebted to such a creature. 

Riley had never felt so alive while telling this story to the creature of the sea and when she had finished she was overjoyed to feel the ship being gently lowered down to the sea, well...as gently as a sea creature of that size could manage.

After a quick-shifting of the waters as the sea creature sank below the waters, it was as if the creature was never there.

Eventually (many celebrations of being alive), they resumed sailing in the direction Riley’s heart pulled and an island poked through the horizon. Her heart was definitely pulling in that direction.

Eventually, the island became clearer and more distinct. On the outskirts of the island were about 20 ships in a line, waiting for...something. There was also an enormous tower the size of a small mountain on the coastline of the island. She saw a cloud of smoke puff around the tower as an object launched out of the tower towards a fleet of ships giving the island a wide berth. Their distance made a lot more sense now. A few moments later a concussive boom smacked the crew in the face. “Was that from the tower!?” Riley yelled, although could barely hear what she said! Riley realized she was on the cusp of a battle. She needed to make a plan for how to arrive on the island alive with two factions already exchanging warning fire.
Does Riley sneak onto the island and avoid the battle at all costs?
Or
Navigate towards a commander and make a plea for a cease-fire?

Vote which direction Riley goes by leaving a comment below this update on Kickstarter with the best path forward! Stay tuned for our next update to see what Riley decides to do!