Welcome to this first look at our next Volume in the HEXplore It series.
We are proud to bring you into the fractured region of Yanagi Tepeu, where two great empires work tirelessly to stave off the destruction of the Tapestry — the magical fabric of our world.
Jaethi, the great plumed serpent of the wind, has returned.
She is the source of the Wellspring - where all magic spills forth into existence. For reasons that are unclear to us, she seeks to destroy the fabric of our reality, disassembling the Patterns of all things.
Take a whirlwind journey with us into the inner workings of our newest title, the Mountains of Godai.
Welcome traveler!
Let this thematic music be your guide as you discover the Mountains of Godai.
"Flight of the Eagle" by Lost Harmonies
Disclaimer: Please note that we are currently building MoG and all mechanics shown on this website are subject to change.
A Tale of Two Kingdoms
Welcome to our Mountain of Godai short story arc.
Click each of the tabs shown to open additional chapters in our unfolding story.
Godai Meaning
Godai (五大, lit. "five – great, large, physical, form") are the five elements in Japanese Buddhist thought of earth (chi), water (sui), fire (ka), wind (fu), and void (ku). See the Wikipedia page here and this great article for more info.
Game Overview
In the Mountains of Godai, balance takes center stage.
The balance of our universe has been shaken. For far too long, powerful beings have interfered with the fabric of our world, causing it to fray, erratically at the edges. This imbalance has drawn the attention of its keeper: Jaethi, the Titan of Magic, the Source of the Wellspring, and the Keeper of Patterns. She now returns to the world to restore balance - by unraveling all Patterns.
Interested in reading more about Patterns?
As the game progresses, the five elements spiral further out of control.
Players work together to restore balance in a deconstructing world. Great areas of land break away from the board and rise to the heavens while the heroes gather Resources, gain power, and confront unique and dangerous challenges.
Play consists of two Stages. The Harvest Stage and the Siege Stage.
Each of these Stages occurs one after the other, up to four times per game. The Harvest Stage spans many months of game time and introduces a new style of play centered on decision making and resource management.
Players gather Resources and strategically prepare for the next coming invasion. When the Xumucane Short Count calendar ends, the next Siege Stage begins. Sieges closely resemble classic HEXplore It play.
During the Siege stage, cataclysmic events, power-hungry demi-deities, and elemental spirits work to deconstruct this reality's Pattern. These Siege opponents are grand in their scope, comprising of powerful creatures and armies. Jaethi herself appears mid-game to wreak havoc on the land and its people.
Can your heroes restore the Balance?
Will you gather the armies necessary to oppose her? Can you raise enough Platinum to bolster your Defenders? Or will you bravely stand your ground alone against a terrifying Titan of our world?
MoG: A Tower Defense
The Mountains of Godai is our Tower Defense volume. It presents a multitude of unique ways for your heroes to build defenses and stand against Jaethi and the elemental denizens ushering forth into the world as its Pattern unravels.
Two Kingdoms - Two Maps
We are featuring two distinct Kingdoms in this game: one based on Japanese culture and the other on Mesoamerican culture. Each map tile is double-sided and features Xumucane lands on one side and Nakaharan lands on the other. During play, your map can feature one of the two cultures or a mixture of both.
New to MoG are Kingdom tiles. These tiles replace the four Quadrants we've used in past Volumes and are sized one hex larger on all sides than standard HEXtiles.
The Kingdom of Caprakan
The Kingdom of Caprakan is nestled within a dense jungle surrounded by tall craggy mountains. Two great City-States exist in Caprakan, they are Nimo Teptek and Manchu Pakra. Both exist on the Crown of the World, a line of mountains that cross the region from end to end. These great City-States and the region between them are home to hundreds of thousands of Xumucane, a proud and fierce people.
The Xumucane People
The Xumucane people refer to themselves as the "Sky People" and claim their gods descended from the heavens tens of thousands of years earlier. They have an intricate oral history that is memorized by each of its people in the form of an epic poem called the Tutu Nabaratu.
Their great cities are sculpted by Earthmasters and feature precision mortarless stone specially shaped to carry water, provide defense, and inspire awe.
Plagued by a terrible reputation for blood letting and ritual sacrifice, the other races of the world tend to leave the Xumucane to themselves. It is true that the Xumucane leaders practice Blood Magic and have sacrificed hundreds of thousands of Xumucane lives. So deeply is this practice entrenched in their culture, that their own people believe there is no greater honor than to give one's life in sacrifice to the gods.
A hundred-year war has just ended between the Xumucane and their Nakaharan neighbors, and though the peace is fragile, each race shares equal blame for the conflict and claims, at least publicly, to want that peace to continue.
Despite the tense relations with their neighbors, most Xumucane live simple lives dedicated to the harvesting of yearly crops, honoring the sky gods, and keeping clean and ordered life for their citizens in their megalithic cities of stone.
The Empire of Ishidan
Nestled between impossibly steep mountain peaks and picturesque flowered grasslands, Ishidan is described by most foreigners as a paradise, hidden apart from the rest of the world.
Two great City-States mark the boundaries of Ishidan, they are Takagura and Hirono. These great City-States and the region between them are home to hundreds of thousands of Nakaharans.
The Nakaharan People
The Empire of Ishidan is steeped in tradition and ruled by Emperor Taisuke, the ninth in his dynasty. This ancient culture is fraught with hardship and has developed a fierce pride in its heritage and ancestry.
It is said that the land and its people are so powerfully connected that their Patterns are inexorably woven together.
This attunement has allowed its people to live as one, at peace, with one another and all of nature's creatures. Though they have endured wars in the past, most Nakaharans would tell you all they want is to live a peace-filled life.
The Xumucane Short Count
The Xumucane people have devised a system to count various cycles of time. The Short Count calendar is closely tuned to the Wellspring. Sages believe it can predict when the Tapestry tears wide enough to let Jaethi's forces breach our world.
The Short Count acts as this game's Timer. The group will play through up to 4 Harvest Stages, each followed by a Siege Stage. During the Harvest Stage, you fill in boxes on the tracker. Conversely, during the Siege Stage, you erase the boxes on the tracker. Game effects can speed up or slow down this process.
The Short Count tracker features the following markers:
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- Stage 1 through 4 Boxes: Fill in to track the current Game Stage
- Harvest Card icons: Harvest cards are drawn at the beginning and end of each Harvest Stage. Additionally, they are drawn in the middle of Stages 2, 3, and 4.
- Game Turn Boxes: Fill in these boxes to track Game Turn progression in the Harvest Stage. Erase them to track Game Turn progression during the Siege Stage.
- Void Icon: The Void icon in Stage 2 represents Jaethi's entrance into our world. Place her mini on the board after the 5th game turn of the second Harvest Stage.
Play the video below to see how Short Count tracking works.
The Harvest Stage
Mountains of Godai is broken into 4 Harvest Stages. Play begins in the first Harvest Stage. In this Volume, we feature a split-party system that allows the heroes to separate into smaller groups in order to gain Resources.
Four Harvesters (this number is unaffected by the number of heroes in the game) will make decisions during this Stage to gather Resources. Heroes will have the opportunity to Harvest Resources in one of two main ways.
Harvesting from a Game Location: The first is tied to game locations on the map. These include locations like City-States, Boss Lairs, Antiquity Sites, Settlements, and Temples. In this scenario, the Harvesting hero places their mini in the center of the game location (see #1). For instance, let's say this location is a Settlement. In this case, the hero might gain 1 Recruit.
Harvesting from Terrain: The second is tied to the terrain type of the map and is unaffected by the location. Terrain types include Forests, Highlands, Marshes, Grasslands, and Mountains. In this scenario, the harvesting hero places their mini on the edge of three terrain hexes (see #2). They will gain Resources from each of these locations. For instance, let's say the hero is placed on an edge that borders 2 Forests and 1 Highland terrain. In this case, the hero might gain 2 Lumber and 1 Ore.
Not all Resources are weighed the same in MoG. This means that sometimes it will be in the heroes' best interest to gather Resources from terrain and other times it will be in their best interest to gather Resources from game locations.
The Harvest Deck
The Harvest Deck contains a number of events that tell the story of how the world is spiraling into chaos. The players will be using the Xumucane Short Count to time this Stage. After a certain number of turns, a Harvest Card is drawn. This is always done before and after the Harvest phase.
Harvest cards feature unique world events and also determine the number and types of Siege opponents that will arrive during the next Siege Stage.
Game Reveals
We're keeping this section a secret for a while, yet all Patterns erode with time. Check back from time to time to see our latest revealed game content!
If you wish to keep our Roles, Races, and Boss reveals behind closed curtains, here is your chance! Don't click these tabs to preserve the Pattern!
Mountains of Godai Signup Credit
We love that you're excited about this next chapter of the HEXplore It series. To thank you for that excitement, we're providing you with a $5 credit toward our next Crowdfunding Campaign. When we launch MoG on Gamefound, you'll find the $5 credit waiting for you in your account.