📢 Project Update: Exciting Changes & New Unlocks!
Greetings, valiant backers!
First off, a massive THANK YOU for your continued support and enthusiasm. Watching so many of you rally behind Crystal Collapse has been nothing short of incredible. We know you’re just as eager as we are to see every hero, faction, and stretch goal unleashed upon the world. So, let’s dive into some exciting updates and keep this adventure rolling!
Contents
1 – Character Stretch Goals – A New Approach (and the arrival of Mr Powder!)
2 – The Lion’s Tower & Crystal Collapse Mercenary of the Month
3 – Designer Diary 01 – Cards Are Deep & Coexist
1 – Character Stretch Goals – A New Approach!
We know some of you have been eyeing those stretch goals with concern, wondering if we’ll reach every unlock before the campaign ends. Well, worry not! We’re switching to time-based unlocks for new heroes, meaning every single character WILL be unlocked—no waiting on funding goals!
From now on, a new hero will be revealed each week during the campaign. That means more value for your pledge, guaranteed! But here’s the fun part—you’ll have to stay tuned to see who joins the fray and what unique abilities they bring to battle.
🔥 First up: Meet Mr Powder!
Our first time-based unlock goes live today, and it’s none other than the enigmatic and deadly Mr Powder!
A Red Mage with a magic-tech rifle, Mr Powder brings precision firepower and tactical trickery to the battlefield. His passive ability grants him an Attack token if he sacrifices his movement action, allowing him to focus on devastating long-range shots.
His active skill? Well, that’s where things get really interesting…
- He can draw two Fate cards and use their combined total to adjust his attack roll—either up or down!
- Need to land a hit? Lower the roll.
- Going for a guaranteed critical? Boost the roll!
A master of calculated destruction, Mr Powder lets you play the odds and bend fate itself to your will!
💀 Who is Mr Powder?
Little is known about the man they call Mr Powder. A wandering gunman wrapped in mystery, he is a member of the elusive Red Mages—a secretive order that operates in the shadows, pulling the strings of kings and warlords alike.
Though he is officially attached to the Court of Vaaland, answering to King Hector himself, his true allegiance is far more sinister. He is not there to serve the King… he is there to ensure the Red Mages’ plans remain undisturbed.
He speaks in riddles, laughs at things no one else finds funny, and has a disturbingly keen interest in watching battles unfold from the sidelines—before stepping in to end them with a single, calculated shot.
What is his true purpose? No one knows. But when Mr Powder enters the battlefield, someone isn’t walking away.
2 The Lion’s Tower & Crystal Collapse Mercenary of the Month!
Since 2016, The Lion’s Tower has been dedicated to creating high-quality gaming miniatures, and since 2019, we’ve been a key player in the STL marketplace. If you’re a fan of JRPG and Anime-inspired miniatures, you might already know our Fabled Fantasy collection on MyMiniFactory Tribes and our Patreon subscription platform.
Now, we’re expanding again!
Starting May 2025, we’ll be launching the Crystal Collapse Mercenary of the Month—a new part of our subscription featuring a brand-new character every month. And here’s the best part:
📢 ALL backers will receive a FREE one-month subscription to our Lion’s Tower Tribe!
That means a free hero mini (or STL) just for backing this campaign!
🚀 Physical prints of the Mercenary of the Month characters will also be available in our webstore, so if you prefer resin over STLs, we’ve got you covered.
3 – Designer Diary with Max 01 – Cards Are Deep & Coexist
Hello and welcome to the first Designer Diary for the ongoing Crystal Collapse Gamefound campaign! Today, I want to focus on the skill cards, explain why they are based on poker cards, and why that makes total sense. To understand this, let’s first take a look at J-RPGs in general and the mythos of cards within them.
Traditional Connection to Divination & Mysticism
In Japan, cards—especially tarot-like or hanafuda cards—often have a mystical or religious significance. Games like Shin Megami Tensei or Persona use tarot cards as symbols for gods or archetypes, as they are associated with spiritual meanings.
Other tactical J-RPGs, such as Tactics Ogre: Reborn and Triangle Strategy, also use cards for gameplay or visual representation. In Tactics Ogre: Reborn, cards provide temporary battlefield boosts, while in Triangle Strategy, they serve as strategic menu unlocks.
Poker Cards as an Aesthetic & Gameplay Element
Visually, playing cards are a powerful medium for conveying mythology and strategy. It is not uncommon for J-RPGs to include custom card decks in special editions, like the beautiful poker deck in Triangle Strategy’s Special Edition. This visual inspiration played a role in our design choices for Crystal Collapse.
Thus, playing Crystal Collapse with poker cards feels natural—we intentionally aimed to capture this mythos.
The Card System in Crystal Collapse
The deck is divided into two parts:
1️⃣ Skill Deck (Cards from 5 to 10 plus all picture cards and Aces) – The core combat mechanics and mana resource for activating skills.
2️⃣ Fate Deck (Cards from 2 to 4 + a Joker) – Used for random elements, luck, and fate mechanics.
How Do the Cards Work in Combat?
Combat considers two key values:
- Hit Value – Based on the played card + hero’s attack value. Must be rolled under on a d20 (similar to Infinity or Final Fantasy Tactics).
- Damage Value – Determined by dice rolls.
God Cards—Kings, Queens, Jacks, Aces, and the Joker—represent the gods of the game world. Playing these cards mimics J-RPG summoning mechanics, granting extra bonuses to attacks!
A Test of Fate – The Role of Fate Cards
Fate cards inject drama into combat by affecting:
🔹 Status Effects – A drawn card determines if a condition (like poison) persists.
🔹 Attack & Defense – Positioning, abilities and god cards allow players to earn Fate cards, modifying rolls at critical moments.
How Will the Final Poker Cards Look?
Rest assured, we’re working to bring Crystal Collapse’s beautiful artwork to life on these cards. If we unlock foil god cards as stretch goals, they’ll make the experience even more unforgettable!
Additionally, we plan to introduce more god cards in future expansions, adding a deck-building aspect to the game.
Thank you for reading! I look forward to sharing more game design insights in future Designer Diaries.
Until next time,
Max
Final Words
✅ Character stretch goals are now time-based—you’re getting ALL the heroes!
✅ Mr Powder is officially unlocked!
✅ Crystal Collapse Mercenary of the Month launches in May 2025—and YOU get a free month!
Keep spreading the word, and let’s make this the best tactical JRPG board game ever!
Until next time, heroes!
— The Lion’s Tower Team
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