Deliverance is live (Deliver divine justice)
Update: Deliverance is live on Kickstarter and the campaign will run for 29 days. You may pledge for either the standard or the Deluxe edition that comes with Angel minis. The all-in includes a neoprene mat and metal tokens, and if you wish to splash out, you may order your minis to come professionally painted.
Our preview post below was published on June 4.
Deliverance is a 1-4 players dungeon crawl game in which you play as Angels battling against an army of demons, either in one-session skirmishes or through a campaign spanning across 14 scenarios. It will go live on Kickstarter on June 8.
As a solo player, you can either play multi-handed or with a single character. In the latter case, you have 2 instead of 3 actions per turn, and play with an “Intercessor” that counts as an Angel for scaling purposes but doesn’t directly take part in the fight. The Intercessor comes with support actions you can use. In multiplayer mode, you alternate player turns and enemy turns according to their position on the Initiative track; in “true solo” mode, you use your total of 4 actions (3 for you and one for the Intercessor) split into two turns, interspersed with demon turns.
To play the game, you first pick up an Angel. All Angels come with different stats (Health, Strength, Discipline, and Wisdom), specific actions listed on your player board, and specific Talent cards (akin to skills) that you can unlock through leveling up. Next, you set up map tiles (one per Angel) and draw as many Battle cards to see which demons are placed where. The game is then played in rounds split into three phases. In the first phase, the Darkness, you draw Darkness cards according to the number of Angels and oppressed “saints”. Saints are humans you must fight for; they start oppressed, but become protected if you go near them. However, when demons come and you are not around anymore, they become oppressed again. Protecting a saint also gives you one XP to level up. The Darkness cards are similar to event cards that are either resolved instantly, or bear ongoing effects. As their name suggests, they always work against you. You can however cast them down with specific actions.
Then, the Action phase can begin! You and the demons take turns as described above. The actions you can take are listed on your player board. Combat is deterministic: attack actions usually specify a stat (e.g. Strength or Discipline) and you deal as many damage points as your corresponding stat value. However, some actions may require you to perform a skill test in order to carry them out, in which case you roll two d6 to beat the corresponding value. Some actions also cost, or earn you, Courage points. Defeating demons earns you XP points depending on the demon.
To carry out the Demon turns, you follow their specific card. It may list some abilities that activate instantly, and comes with a list of possible actions they can take. All demons have one action point usually; to know how they spend that point, you roll a d6 and carry out the corresponding action listed on the card.
In the third phase, Level Up, you do so by spending XP points. When you level up, you either pick one of two Heavenly Treasure cards, or one of two Talent cards. Heavenly Treasure cards are like loot you can equip without any restriction. They usually come with an ability (either one-use, instant, or permanent) and increase some of your stats. The Talent cards offer you additional actions, or may upgrade your current ones.
In skirmish mode, when you have defeated all the demons, the final battle takes place, and the Fallen Prince arrives on the battlefield, spawning new minions in the process. If you defeat them all, you win the game! In the campaign, the victory conditions are specified for each scenario. You level up at the end of each scenario, and the Talents and Heavenly Treasures you earn can be kept throughout the whole campaign. You can also unlock specific resources that will apply to all further scenarios, e.g. by starting with more Courage.
Finally, the game comes in four difficulty levels for the Skirmish mode. The difficulty level is adjusted by endowing demons with additional skills in the form of Talent cards. However, the Angels also start at a higher level. The Campaign also offers a “New Game +” mode: once you first beat the campaign, you can restart it with your experienced Angel by adding specific “Challenge” rules to each mission.