DARKFUR: Beast Dominance

FUNDED ON THE FIRST DAY!

Shipping advantage

NO TARIFFS for backers living in the US and EU, for other countries (non-US/EU) your shipment will most likely benefit from 'de minimis' arrangements, and the project is being fulfilled by the most transparent and reliable fulfilment service, Isolated Thunderstorm
See the FAQ for more in-depth information.

Trusted creator

We have been awarded the Trusted Creator badge on Kickstarter, which allows us to manage multiple projects at the same time, because we have already prooven that we are capable of exactly that. (In essence, running more than one Kickstarter project is not very different from managing a Kickstarter alongside ongoing Patreon projects - it’s simply part of maintaining an active creative catalogue.) See the FAQ for more in-depth information.

A new era

The Darkfur theme

DARKFUR is a world shaped by tooth and tail, where magnificent creatures of every size wander across stark and mysterious landscapes. Twisted trees, jagged mountains, and barren plains form the backdrop to a realm alive with mythical presence.

Here, beasts are not simply survivors of a harsh land - they are living works of legend. Some are vast and towering, others subtle and strange, each with their own place in this intricate world. Like an echo of the insect kingdom, DARKFUR thrives with variety, where the smallest details and the grandest forms intertwine.

The Darkfur series invites you into that realm. Each card captures the essence of a creature, the atmosphere of its surroundings, and the artistry of a world both dangerous and awe-inspiring. To explore DARKFUR is to enter a living bestiary - an illustrated journey into landscapes and beasts unlike any other.

Highlights

★ Introducing: DARKFUR: Beast Dominance the card game
★ Premium primal beasts playing cards (DARKFUR vol. II)
★ Exclusive to Kickstarter & Isolated Thunderstorm
★ Metallic gilt-edged cards
★ Tucks with rich artwork, embossing and metal foil
★ 2 unique & limited edition print runs (max 1,200)
★ 54 poker sized playing cards (52+2 jokers)
★ Casino quality M31 linen finish by WJPCC
★ Expertly fulfilled by Isolated Thunderstorm

Hoof edition

Rich with foil, embossing and deep black inks, these tucks are crafted to make a lasting impression in any deck collection. These decks are built for those who crave dark fantasy, mythical beasts and intricate illustration with an aged look and feel. The Hoof edition has a turquoise color to create an eye-catching contrast to the sepia tones of the deck. Building on the success of our first Darkfur project, we wanted to keep the overall aesthetics while presenting a completely fresh expansion to the series with new Beasts, color schemes and tucks that emit the primal carnage that they hold.

The Hoof edition features darker cards and bordered back. The cards have a turquoise, metallic edge-gilding for aesthetics that are sure to capture the attention of any bystander. 

The Darkfur II poker sets have unique tucks, color schemes, card backs, jokers and edge-gilding. The 12 Beasts are identical in the two editions and hand-illustrated.

Horn edition

Building on the success of our first Darkfur project, we wanted to keep the overall aesthetics while presenting a completely fresh expansion to the series with new Beasts, color schemes and tucks that emit the primal carnage that they hold. Rich with foil, embossing and deep black inks, these tucks are crafted to make a lasting impression in any deck collection. These decks are built for those who crave dark fantasy, mythical beasts and intricate illustration with an aged look and feel. The Horn edition has an elegant purple color for an eye-catching contrast to the otherwise aged tones of the deck.

The Horn edition features brighter cards and borderless backs. The cards have a purple, metallic edge-gilding for a truly luxurious and unique aesthetic. 

The Darkfur II poker sets have unique tucks, color schemes, card backs, jokers and edge-gilding. The 12 Beasts are identical in the two editions and hand-illustrated.

The card game

Building on the success of our Darkfur series, not only are we introducing two completely new decks, we have also created a new, fast-paced, tactical card game for 1-5 players - DARKFUR: Beast Dominance! A balanced game that will keep all players engaged from start to finish.

With 2 copies of the game you can play with double the amount of Beasts, add more custom game modifiers and keep track of score with excess cards. We are offering two copies of the game at a discounted price.  

The game is simple enough to be explained in 5 cards, yet varied and tactical enough to offer tons of variety in gameplay cycles and strategic depth.

STEP 1 | The top condition card is revealed and all players secretly choose which Beast to migrate into the played terrain. The maximum habitat capacity for the terrain is 3x the number of players. Each Condition card also comes with a special event which might affect the score if the chosen Beasts do not overcrowd the terrain:

STEP 2 | Beast Dominance values for the caves terrain are added up. In this 3-player setup the max habitat capacity of 9 is not exceeded, so all played Beasts score their Dominance value of the caves terrain:

STEP 3 | Beasts are eventually recycled and have different Dominance values accross the five terrains. The Evolution cards are shared achievements that all players can pursue during the 10 rounds of play:

DARKFUR: Beast Dominance contains 25 Beast cards, 20 Condition cards, 5 Evolution cards, 5 Rules cards:

A view of some of the DARKFUR: Beast Dominance contents in close-up:

Darkfur hardbox

THE DARKFUR HARDBOX  |  EXCLUSIVE AND LIMITED. Fitting 12 decks. A thick and robust rigid box made of chipboard wrapped with linen art-paper and has a lid and bottom. Holding a hardbox in your hands is an impressive feeling. The added protection of your precious decks is also a factor worthy of mention. This reward tier will arrive in assembled state, ready to be displayed as an eye-catching centerpiece in your collection!

★  Exterior artwork.
★  Hardbox.

Bestiaries I+II

The DARKFUR booklets are Bestiaries in 2 volumes. Essentially, they are printed Bestiary compendiums that will allow you to explore the lore of all the mythical DARKFUR Beasts for full immersion and understanding of their various behaviours, strengths and weaknesses. The booklets are made in a horizontal A6 printed format of 32 pages and each cover 12 Darkfur Beasts. 

The Darkfur coin

The DARKFUR Bestiary coin is made with an antique gold finish and embossed artwork as seen here. The coin is 2 inches (50mm) in size and is an eternal metal artifact that you can use as a player token, card guard and as an iconic ornament for the Darkfur series. 

Previous projects

What you see here below is just a glimpse at some of the addons that are available to backers of the project. The full list of addons is available when making or adjusting your pledge to this project. Some are very limited in quantity and some are bundled in special DEALS. Let us know if you have any questions or custom pledge inquiries and we will be glad to assist in composing exactly what you are after. We will not be using Backerkit/Pledge Manager for post-funding customization of addons, so grab them while you can! 

DARKFUR I is our first volume of luxurious, dark fantasy, edge-gilded playing cards with beast illustrations by Petro Kostiuk in two limited editions: Claw and Scale. 

There's also a gritty metal coin, bestiary companion booklets and rigid boxes made for this project:

The Darkfur coin is made with an antique gold finish and embossed artwork as seen here. The coin is 2 inches (50mm) in size and is an eternal metal artifact that you can cherish forever. 

The DARKFUR: Claw & Scale booklet is essentially our DARKFUR Bestiary vol. I that will allow you to explore the lore and illustrations of the first 12 mythical DARKFUR Beasts in great detail. The booklet comes in a horizontal A6 printed format of 32 pages. There is also a volume II covering the 12 new Beasts of Darkfur.

Our notorious and remarkable Dark Myth: UNDERWORLD Playing Cards in a very limited supply! These are our legendary, luxurious playing cards where both tucks and cards have an UV glow effect! The special features for these cards are too numerous to list here, so we encourage you to explore them on the project.
For this project we made some awesome metal coins, booklets and hardboxes.

We have a very small assortment of prototype decks from our Dark Myth: UNDERWORLD project. Besides the 'glow in the dark' UV and tuck interiors, these prototype tucks have very alternative foil colors compared to the standard decks and their price reflect their rarity.

The Sigil of Haides metal coin is made with an antique gold finish and embossed artwork as seen here. The coin is 2 inches (50mm) in size and is an eternal metal artifact that you can cherish forever.

THE COIL HARDBOX  |  EXCLUSIVE AND LIMITED. Fitting 12 decks. Manufactured with sturdy 100% recycled chipboard wrapped with linen textured art paper. 

Holding a hardbox in your hands is an impressive feeling by the weight and sturdiness alone. The added protection of your precious decks is also a factor worthy of mention. This reward tier will arrive in assembled state, ready to be displayed as an eye-catching centerpiece in your collection!

It is highly recommended not to navigate the maze-like depths of the Underworld without a deeper knowledge and understanding of the monsters and deities that you are going to face here. You can try of course, but say you were not warned! That is... if you come out alive and live to tell the story.

The Underworld booklet comes in a horisontal A6 printed format and features an in-depth lore for all the greek deities in this project.

Gothica I Playing Cards is a twisted and very luxurious take on gothic horror literature and includes an alchemical puzzle game which relates to the story. Select the Gothica MIXED PAIR DEAL on the list of addons for a set of both decks at a strong, discounted price.

Gothica tuck prototypes are all produced in extremely low quantities, which naturally only makes them relevant exclusively for those who crave to own truly rare artifacts. 

ILLUMINATI Playing Cards - The Owl & The Knight are bavarian, esoteric, luxury decks, designed for the curious playing card enthusiasts, who appreciate fine art, the occult, mythology and arcane history. Select the ILLUMINATI MIXED PAIR DEAL on the list of addons for a set of both decks at a strong, discounted price.

Kingdom of EDEN playing cards features custom artwork made by human artists within our studio. This art project blends a variety of expressive methods and artistic techniques, including traditional pencil illustration and modern graphic design.

Artwork

The DARKFUR series is designed by The Other Self, with Beast illustrations by Petro Kostiuk. The DARKFUR Beasts are masterly hand-drawn by Petro Kostiuk with great attention to detail. As we have done many times previously in our studio, we share the actual work process on this project as well as even more on our Instagram account frequently. 

Our studio

T.O.S. (The Other Self) is not an artist's alias, it is design studio that mainly operates from Scandinavia but works with a multitude of artists from around the world on a number of projects. T.O.S is always orchestrated by professional artists and experienced creators. 

We are a small business that is devoted to supporting artists who bring unique and original ideas to the table. Supporting our projects means supporting a multitude of small, independent creatives in a variety of categories ranging from musical artists, illustrators, video editors, 2D artists, 3D artist and many more! 

As creators of art, we don't want to present just beautiful pictures, we want to present an artist's view of the world, efforts and dedication to recreate something intangible into something tangible. Every card and every aspect of the project has been crafted with passion, skill and heart.

The process of creation is part of what makes the end result so valuable, meaningful and more than just a pretty image. We hope that you will be able to see beyond the obvious in our latest art project. Here is the instagram account for The Other Self studio where you can see many videos about our work process.

Our previous, successful Kickstarter projects include Illuminati, Legends of Elven Resistance (LoER) and Gothica volume I and Gothica II - Dracula.

Supporting us through Kickstarter is always a safe bet.
Our studio will always ensure a safe and careful execution and delivery to all backers of our projects, due to our extensive experience and business relations in the industry.

We have an exclusive contract with www.isolatedthunderstorm.com by Marianne Larsen, to ensure that project fulfilments are always handled by the best in the business.

T.O.S. 
Our official instagram account