Stretch Goals

Kickstarter Stretch Goals

Stretch Goals are your opportunity to help expand on the vision for Underworld Ascendant, extending the experience, along with innovations that push the game’s boundaries.

Some of the Stretch Goals include exclusive rewards for Kickstarter Backers. Upon achieving these Stretch Goals, all backers at Adventurer Tier or higher will receive them for free. While these rewards are fun and exclusive, none provide a competitive edge over players who might not have them, so as to keep the game balanced for all.

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8,000 BACKERS STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Achieved)

• As a pat-on-the-back for all Backers, if the Kickstarter for Underworld Ascendant exceeds 8,000 uers by noon (EST) on Sunday, February 15th, everyone who had pledged $5 or more will be gifted this special Kickstarter Exclusive in-game item: a pair of 'Little Friends' claw knuckles!
  
  These dwarven-crafted claw knuckles pack a surprising punch for such an inconspicuous weapon. And for every 500 new Backers past 8,000 that join us by Sunday, our dwarven smiths will set an extra fine Blue Opal stone in the knuckles of the Little Friends. Let’s go for the bling!
  
  Finally, if the $1,200,000 Stretch Goal (which includes co-op mode) gets unlocked during the Kickstarter, we’ll upgrade everybody’s Little Friends with an Enchantment of Stunning.

(Total backers as of the cutoff was 8,078, so each player will receive the Little Friends, but they will not contain any blue opals.)

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9,000 BACKERS STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Achieved)

• If the Kickstarter for Underworld Ascendant exceeds 9,000 uers by noon (EST) on Sunday, February 22nd, everyone who had pledged $5 or more will be gifted this special Kickstarter Exclusive in-game item: a dark elf sling with Splatter Seeds!
  
  A handy sling, popular with the Dark Elves. This one comes with rare Splatter Seeds. The elves harvest these seeds from a creeping vine that thrives in their domain. The seeds have sharp thorns that can damage a foe, but they also split open on contact to spray a phosphorescent goo. Great way to tag a foe in the dark! The 5 8 seeds that come with this sling have a one-of-a-kind, extra long-lasting, purple goo. For every hundred additional backers over 9,000 that join us by Sunday noon, the elves have offered to include a bonus purple seed.

(Total backers as of the cutoff was just over 9,300, so each player will receive a Dark Elf Sling and 8 Splatter Seeds.)

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10,000 BACKERS STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Achieved)

• Ages ago a nobleman, whose own name is long-forgotten, had a favorite court jester, Bartholomew. Bart was famously sharp-witted. Sadly, Bart drowned in a huge vat of mead one evening after feasting. The nobleman had a necromancer animate Bart’s skull so that, in death, Bart could still chatter up a storm.
  
  Years later the Shambler elders somehow came into possession of this curious artifact. Now the Shamblers are offering to share this artifact with each and every member of our community if we reach 10,000 Backers by noon (ET) next Saturday, February 28th.
  
  Bart is also chipping in. He will let the community write extra quips for him. For every 200 Backers over 10,000 reached by next Saturday, Bart will select from the fan submissions a bonus quip to use in his repertoire. So go to the forums HERE, and suggest quips for Bart’s consideration. PG-13 please. Bart will utter these exclusive quips only when his skull is held by one of our Kickstarter Backers.

(Total backers as of the cutoff was just over 11,000, so each player will receive a Chattering Bart, and 5 fan-created quips will be selected.)

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PLEDGE AVERAGE STRETCH GOAL (Achieved)

• As community reward, for every dollar over our current $57 average pledge per backer reaches by the end of the campaign, we will add a Silver Piece into an in-game purse for all of our Kickstarter backers at the PIONEER tier or higher. C'mon folks, let's break the (digital) bank! Please note that this reward won’t unbalance the game in for starting players, as a handful of Silver Pieces is a modest amount of currency in the Stygian Abyss, although more than pocket change.

(The average pledge per backer raised from $57 to $61, so each player at the Pioneer tier or higher will receive 4 Silver Pieces.)

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LAST DAY PLEDGE DRIVE STRETCH GOAL (Achieved)

• For the final 24 hours, until the Kickstarter ends, for every $10,000 additional that gets pledged during the day, we will give all Kickstarter backers one of the famed Dire Berries. These berries, which grow on the strange swamp willows of the Dire Grove, give those who eat them a modicum of healing and a boost to energy. Used by wizards and warrior alike to prepare themselves for battle, these berries are coveted throughout the Stygian Abyss.

(Total funding raised from $771,000 to $860,000, so each player will receive 8 Dire Berries.)

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THE LABYRINTH OF DREAMS STRETCH GOAL (Achieved)

• On Thursday, March 5, 2015, "Dungeon Master" Chris Seigel will be running a MUD-like dungeon crawl in the Comments section of the Kickstarter page. This is a fun text adventure of tricks, puzzles and danger.
  
  Chris' dungeon, The Labyrinth of Dreams, holds great treasure that will be shared with the entire community if it is found. If the players succeed in reaching the end of the dungeon and overcoming the final obstacle before 9pm EST, they will uncover the lost Chalice of Cabirus, a magical artifact which grants any who drink from it a temporary increase to intellect and knowledge of the Stygian Abyss! If the community finds the chalice during Chris' adventure, all Kickstarter backers will be given this in-game, Kickstarter exclusive item!

(The players completed the quest, unlocking the Chalice for all backers.)

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$650,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Achieved)

• The Underswamp – Dank and dangerous, The Underswamp is home to some of the odder inhabitants of The Stygian Abyss. For those who know where to look, there is a wild, earthen magic to be found.

• Rotworm Skin Swamp Boots - These boots allow for somewhat faster trekking through swamps than usual, and are quite fashionable in or out of the muck! A Kickstarter exclusive in-game reward item.

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$700,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Achieved)

• Tracy Hickman prequel novel for Underworld Ascendant.

• A digital copy of Sir Cabirus’ portfolio revealing a half-dozen exotic locations in the Abyss will be gifted as a KICKSTARTER EXCLUSIVE reward to all backers in the JOURNEYMAN pledge tier or higher

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$725,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Achieved)

• The Dire Grove - A special area within the Underswamp the Lizardmen would enjoy. The Dire Grove is dominated by a massive species of swamp willow. These willows make fine roosts for Lizardmen treehouses. They also bear a fluorescent green fruit, which is said to have an odd magical effect if consumed.

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$750,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Achieved)

• Lizardmen - These tribal creatures hunt in groups across The Underswamp. They are cunning, and speak a strange tongue of clicks and clacks. Perhaps you can befriend them and learn their ways?

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$775,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Achieved)

• The Necrotic Graveyard - This dark and foreboding locale seems to hold an allure for the various monsters and creatures of the Stygian Abyss who, upon arriving at the graveyard, pass away only to be reanimated as the undead.

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$800,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Achieved)

• Companion Creatures – Players will be able to have a faithful little creature tag along on their adventures. They are not much use in a fight, but they can help in other unexpected ways. And they are cute.

• Enhanced Music - More musical tracks and more elaborate scores.

• Vorpal Bunny or Mini-Brain - To coincide with companion creatures, backers at the JOURNEYMAN tier and higher get one of these rare and exclusive breed to tag along. Which one? Fans VOTE to decide! A Kickstarter exclusive in-game reward item.

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$825,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Achieved)

• The Forsaken Webway - This extensive series of tunnels and passages, once known simply as the Webway, connects disparate parts of the Underworld and long ago were the main thoroughfares of the Stygian Abyss. But now they have become infested with spider hordes and clogged with webs as strong as rope. Travelers no longer use the Forsaken Webway as the risk of becoming spider food is too great. Can you reclaim these lost tunnels for the people of the Underworld, allowing trade and commerce to once again flow free?

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$850,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Achieved)

• Dynamic Music & SFX – A more sophisticated dynamic contextual in-game audio system.

• The Resonant Caves - This natural wonder seems always to have subterranean airs wafting through it chambers, which softly sound starkly enchanting melodies. It is said that those adventurers who listen and learn to play these melodies will gain a certain magical sway over the subterranean airs.

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$860,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Achieved)

• The Bazaar of the Arcane - If we can reach this sub-goal in these final minutes of the Kickstarter, we will add new place in Stygian Abyss. The Bazaar of the Arcane is the spot to procure more exotic items.

(The Kickstarter ended with $860,356, adding the Bazaar to the game.)

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$900,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Achieved)

• Language localizations - We will localize the game in French, Italian, German and Spanish.

• Liches - One of the most feared adversaries one can encounter in the Underworld. Old, powerful and full of hate, liches were once powerful wizards who, in a desperate bid for immortality, have sacrificed their souls to gain forbidden knowledge and eternal life as an undead necromancer. Forever damned, liches sit on their thrones of bone awaiting the time when their powers are strong enough for them to rise up and dominate the living.

• Tyball - Not only will we add liches to the game as a creature type, but we will also add one particular lich to Underworld Ascendant with its own unique personality and motivations. Thought killed long ago by a great hero, the evil wizard Tyball survived his fate to become a being of even greater power.

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$925,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Achieved)

• The Wailing Haunt – This new monster is ethereal and powerless in the light, but in darkness will doggedly pursue its chosen victim, while its ghostly rattle attracts unwanted attention.

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$950,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Locked)

• Necropolis of the Ancients – New area of The Stygian Abyss to explore! Darkness upon darkness; ancient beyond reckoning. Only the stout-hearted enter this accursed city. Those who dare may discover arcane treasures.

• Silver Ankh of the Undead – Stand still while wearing it and lessor undead will ignore you, mistaking you for a corpse. A Kickstarter exclusive in-game reward item.

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$1,050,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Locked)

• Underworld Builder Toolkit – All fans get access to the Toolkit, the essential suite of tools our design team is using to create the areas of the Stygian Abyss. Build your own areas and share them with friends!

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$1,100,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Locked)

• Deeper Lore & Backstory – We’ll add design resources to the team to plunge deeper on the backstory and arcane secrets of the Underworld. A lore aficionado’s dream come true!

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$1,150,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Locked)

• Co-Op Play with a Friend - This is a big one, folks! Now bring along a friend on your adventure. Play together online, tag-teaming the challenges. Or if your buddy is offline, a magical spell will bring them in as an ethereal doppelganger, run by an AI.

• Odoriferous Throwing Net - A small, throwing net that friends can toss back-and-forth to each other. The holder of the net will tend to attract hostile beasts to themselves. What fun! A Kickstarter exclusive in-game reward item.

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$1,200,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Locked)

• More extensive Avatar customization - Greater variety of faces, hairstyles, tattoos and accouterments to choose from during character creation, and to show off to friends. Can also try out with new looks as your character grows.

Trivia

• The rewards were revamped in Update 23 to rearrange some items and space them out more evenly.