Divinity: Original Sin – The Board Game Updates, $833,273 and Counting

The Kickstarter campaign for Divinity: Original Sin – The Board Game is going strong, with a total of $833,273 already pledged and roughly three weeks still left to go. As such, you might be interested in checking out some recent updates. Update #4 introduces us to a couple of board game-exclusive characters. Update #5 talks about the game’s location card mechanic and shares a video report from this year’s BoardGameGeek Con. Update #6 reveals a few additional stretch goals and outlines the source mechanic. And update #7 once again reveals some stretch goals and then covers crafting.

So, here’s the video report:

And an overview of location cards:

Location Cards

Swen mentioned in our opening video that the game really captures the Divinity experience. And we mean that in all the major ways Divinity is important to us, and to yourselves. Tactical combat with elemental gameplay, immersive narrative, a sense of adventure and a great co-op experience where your choices matter and they give multiple potential consequences. Mechanically speaking, the tangible cards, items, and touchy-feelies in the box serve as the tools to experience the adventure.

Today we wanted to dive into Location Cards mechanic and show how they really bridge the gap between the adventure narrative side of the game and the combat. When making DOS2 the video game, our designers worked hard balancing the experience to give you a perfect mix of combat, story, exploration and adventure. In the board game, it’s through location cards that this balance is achieved.

Each of the 500+ cards has a story to tell. With custom artwork that very often will have hints or obvious inclusions that will tie into the story and tell you what you will encounter before you go there. They also have various icons that will explain its tactical usefulness in combat. A forest clearing may provide easier traversal, but also make it easier for enemies to shoot at you since you’re in the open. Likewise, an overhanging rock might provide the ideal scouting location, giving you information on other cards and enemies while also giving you a height advantage in combat.

But that’s just one side. Because as you explore the location, you’ll flip the card over and the story will continue in the text on the card!

You see, each location is tied together through the story book. This book provides multiple options and decisions based on what you and your group want to do. Some options will be special too, and react to who you are, and who is in your party thanks to the tags on your character. (Sound familiar? This was one of the major achievements in the Divinity: Original Sin video games).

The Location Cards become an extension of the story book. So when you go to a new location, and the story book introduces it and presents some choices to you, the Location Cards pick up where the book leaves off. So you remain immersed in the story and there is no rigid gap between tactical movement around a board and reading from the narrative. It’s all blended together, giving a wonderful mix that leaves you unsure of when the enemies will appear or when a location is truly explored and safe.

The choices you make have real impact. Based on decisions made in the book, the location (or previous locations), the game reacts; providing new alternative location cards reflective of the results of your decisions.

So a Location like a bandit camp may have 8 cards on display at any one time, but more than 16 potential cards to use depending on what the game tells you.

And of course, with all of these cards spread across the table as you embark on your adventure, we’ve got dozens of minis to both milestone your own avatar movement, but also clearly highlight meaningful NPCs, characters, and bosses around the the cards that serve to tell the story.

A typical adventure of Divinity: Original Sin the board game may take 8-10 sessions totaling in 20 hours of game time. But you’ll never experience all the content in one play-through. Meaning there will be heaps of content you may not experience because of the decisions you make and the characters and tags you are playing with.

We’ll have more very soon. Thanks for all your support so far!