![]()
Introduction
Welcome, Commander. You must have heard the news. The rumors are true: his majesty, King Revland, has died. His passing has caused a fair amount of turmoil in the bordering realms. The Undead are stirring, coming out of the Forsaken Tundra and raiding outlying villages, the Goblins of Cutthroat Cliffs, who only concern themselves with gold and jewels, seek now for higher ambitions, smelling opportunity further inland, and reports of other races say they are moving forces across forbidden borders, breaking treaties, and amassing armies.
Some of these jokers believe that since the late king has no heir, the throne to the kingdom is up for grabs. They think that if they can take it by force, the kingdom will kneel to them, and a new dynasty will begin under their law. I’m telling you that we simply cannot let this happen. Imagine Necrodore, the Undead Lord, sitting upon the throne. It’d be the death of us all!
Forget it! Defeat is not an option! The Humans are going to make a stand. Already, other commanders, like you, have taken up our banner in defense of this great land and claim the throne for us, it’s rightful heirs. We will bring peace to this land and give it a king worthy to succeed King Revland in honor and justice.
The other races, no doubt, have a similar plan. To help you repel these forces, you will be given command over our most powerful warriors. We will supply you with the cost of hiring these troops and give you the tools to obliterate your enemies. Peace is not cheap. Choose from mighty swordsmen, cunning trappers, vigilant knights, and magic-launching mages. Assemble your team and join the fight for the throne!
Join our Discord server! https://discord.gg/5v3zSPc
![]()
A Breaking of the 4th Wall
It is our deliberate intention to keep players inside the world of Birthright by telling a compelling story, constructing an in-depth world to explore and understand, and providing compelling music, voices and sounds, gameplay, and graphics quality, to make certain that what you do in your individual battles has an effect on the world as a whole. Alas, there will be times where we must pull you from this incredible place and 'break the 4th wall.' We do this to give you an understanding of the game we play, a game of balance, details, quality, and beauty.
PYE Games is built solidly on the shoulders of a keen designer, a resolute developer, a driven voice and sound designer, a visionary composer, a loyal artist, and a gifted whip-cracker. We take pride in announcing the world of Birthright, a card-based, battle simulation that draws its characters from a world fused with fantasy and magic and pits them against the forces that would have them eradicated from the world.
![]()
What We Need
As an indie development company, our resources are small, but our dreams are massive! Each of us shows ample aptitude in our respective roles, and together, our passion drives this project forward. There are so many ways we can make this game better, and it's important to us that we deliver a game that is completed, refined, easy to understand and play, and most of all fun. We need it to be ready at launch so that we can immediately start plans for Season 2, one of many expansions that will widen your scope of the world, further the storylines of these incredible characters, and give you more options for cards in your deck-building collection.
By contributing to this campaign, you support us in delivering this project to the world in its intended form. Some examples of ways this money will be used include:
1. 3D rendered characters that jump from the cards and into the battle ready to fight. At the moment, the cards played onto the field stay cards when they are in combat. 3D artists and animators can bring these characters to life in a way a flat drawing of a card never could.
2. A fully orchestrated soundtrack and high quality sound. It's sad to say it, but these things take money to get them done right. Your contributions will help in the creating of these beautiful works.
3. Telling the story. We know the power of a captivating story. Birthright is different than other card games for many reasons, but this one feels the most important. The characters and races in the land will change over time and you will witness the fall of the mighty, the rise of the weak and weary, and the transformations of the corrupted and insane. (Do you want to know the best part? These changes will be because of how the players interact with these characters. Does the Goblin CEO, Greygrip Satchelsnatcher sit the king's throne at the end of Season 1? Or is it given over to the Lord of the Undead, Necrodore? Can the Humans retain this mighty honor? Or do the power of Dwarven inventions secure the throne for themselves? It all depends on you.)
4. Cinematics. To show the outcomes of the Seasons, to give power to the weak, or to change the DNA of a Human scientist to a rabid Goblin supporter, we need the ability to produce compelling cinematics. This includes a comic-style overlay, animations, voice-over acting, and vibrant art. We want a reason to nerf or buff your darling Necromancer Jane that you understand instead of doing it just because we feel like it. As we said before, we want you to feel like this world is changing and evolving without you having to see the gears and steam vents under the hood.
5. UX design and integration, polish, and bug testing. No one is pulled from the world of Birthright faster than a witness of a glitch or a difficult to use interface. If the card says 'Summon a 3/3/1 Rabid Dog,' and it pulls out a 0\3\0 Random Egg instead, we have a problem. Bug testing is crucial to removing distractions and giving a fair game to players, and this takes time.
![]()
What You Get
If we have the ability and the resources listed above, you will get an incredibly unique game that rewards strategy, decision-making skills, and study of your opponent. Our goal is to reach $75,000, but our sights are set on producing something much better than what that money can do for the game. Some of our stretch goals are listed above, but here are a few more that we can attain as we reach higher funding:
1. More races. Adding more races to the mix will deepen the world as a whole and change the way the game is played.
2. Customizable bases. The area behind your army should reflect you and your achievements. We want to craft a system where you can shine by simply queuing into a game and displaying your commander status to your opponent.
3. The Standard Bearer. This fellow will stand beside your army and wave your flag to give inspiration to your troops and emotes to your opponent.
In addition to the overall gameplay and as a contributor to this Indiegogo campaign, you will receive specific account rewards, given to you after launch. Here are some unique perks that can be unlocked for your account.
1. More Packs, More packs equals more cards. More cards equals more deck-building choices to build your army just the way you want.
2. In-game currency. Experience will be a way to purchase more packs, upgrade existing cards, or purchase cosmetics. By donating here, you receive an equal amount of in-game currency that you would have gotten for every dollar you spend.
3. Bigger rewards for bigger donations. We value your dedication to us and will reward you with special perks for funding us. These include: Founder Status, an opportunity to design your own hero for a future race, and having your name in the credits!
![]()
Let's Get Specific About Birthright
What makes Birthright different than other card games?
1. The Battlefield. Birthright is played on a 6x6 grid where you can summon soldiers to the fight from your side of the board. When playing a card, you can choose from the six spots in the first row, this area is your starting area. Depending on the battlefield status, you may choose to place the card on spot #1 away from forces massing on the other side, or you could choose to put him directly in harm's way to soak up damage.
For those of you familiar with card games, the battlefield is one of the biggest differences that gives Birthright a unique playstyle from other card games. Location is everything. Doesn’t it make sense that if an archer is behind a warrior, then he is more protected from the enemy? Of course it does! That’s what gives Birthright an added layer of strategy and opens the door for your opponent to make mistakes.
Lastly, having a game where movement can be restricting sets a pace for the game that can be taken advantage of. Stick together with a tank up front, a spell caster or healer in the middle, and a sniper in the back, and never let a skeleton get close! You are so clever and such a great strategist!
2. Living cards. We mean this in two senses of the word. Cards are divided into different rarities, Bronze being the lowest, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, however there is a twist. Each card is designed with the four different rarities, giving bonuses to abilities and stats as they level up. Just playing a card like a Bronze Shield Reaver into the battlefield will give it a bit of Experience once the game is completed. Give it enough Experience, and that bronze card will grow to be a Silver. Play it more and more, and eventually, that lowly Bronze Shield Reaver becomes a Platinum Shield Reaver that smashes his way onto the battlefield and plows through opponents like tissue paper. Feel like you need better cards? Just play the game, and you'll get there without spending a dime. Give it the effort and gain the reward!
The other living card element is that the cards that you own are intertwined into the story of Birthright. As major tournaments happen and seasons come and go, you'll see changes to the cards in your collection. We will have seasonal risk tied to certain cards, and how the players play will decide their outcome at the end of the season. Here's an example: Toliver, the Mighty Earth Knight, is a shining example of strength and devotion, but at the beginning of Season 1, his sister, Elena, is abducted by the Undead lord, Necrodore. Here is the risk: if more battles are won by Humans during Season 1, Toliver will have successfully regained his sister from Necrodore's clutches, and she will be returned to the Humans as a playable card. If the Undead win more battles, she will not have been rescued, and she will become a new Undead card called The Bride of Necrodore. This is serious stuff were talking about.
![]()
Endgame
Ok, as fun as it is endlessly beating the opposing army, what’s the overall point? What’s the goal? Well, beyond your enemies is their base, accessible from anywhere in their starting area, that has 20 hit points. Getting those points down to zero will win you the game. Alternatively, just behind your starting area is your base. This you must defend because if the enemy knocks its 20 hit points down to zero, it’s game over for you.
![]()
Is Birthright Pay to Play? Is it Pay to Win?
Birthright will be launched as a free game, and we will never charge just to play the game. After a short tutorial, you can begin queuing into matches against other players at your skill level. You will be given the option to pick a preconstructed deck that has been crafted to be competitive and receive all the cards in that deck into your collection. From there, daily missions will give you an incentive to try new things and reward you with more packs and Experience.
Experience is a resource you can use to increase the power level of your collection, but the problem that most will see immediately is a more powerful card is better than its original version. Does that mean the player who shells out the most dollars for in-game Experience is going to have the advantage and beat me every time? The answer is no. There are a few checks and balances in place that make the game fair. Firstly, the rarer a card is, the less you are allowed to put it into your deck. Bronze is limited to 4, Silver to 3, Gold to 2, and Platinum to 1. This restricts the number of times you will see it played against you. Secondly, as the power level of cards increases, so does their cost. This limits the turns the higher cost cards are able to be played. With this model, the game is not Pay to Win.
![]()
Closing Remarks
Birthright is designed to be a community-driven game, where we, the developers, are open and inviting fan content, lore posts, and constructive feedback on the overall state of the game. We want to hear from you, implement fan-built content into the game, run art contests, design cards on stream so everyone can have a say. We want to keep things open and make appropriate changes to the game to help it become the best it can!
![]()