Hi, Spacers, welcome aboard!
It’s been a few weeks since the last update, and a lot has happened since then. We introduced you to the Hollowed and the Snatcher, talked about some big changes to the core game, and gave you a first look at the Black Kompromat campaign through the TTS demo. Many of you have already played it, and your feedback’s been incredibly helpful. Thank you!
Today, we’ve got a little bit of everything for you. A new boss you’ll definitely want to keep your distance from. New gear information, fresh from the wreckage. And a peek behind the curtain, where production is picking up speed and exciting things are taking shape.
Suit up and keep your eyes open. Things are getting louder out there.
In The Pipe, Five By Five - Production Update
Work continues. On all fronts.
The design team is now elbows deep in the connective tissue of the game — the systems that quietly shape entire missions and determine how different mechanics work together. Some have been in motion for a long time, and it’s satisfying to finally see things snap into place.
QA, as always, is in the thick of it. The testing queue is long, but progress remains steady. More and more content is making the jump from draft to playable, then from playable to tuned. Bugs are caught, edge cases adjusted, strange loops identified and fixed. And through it all, the core systems are holding strong.
On the narrative side, the Shepherd is coming alive. Discoveries are being slotted, dialogues unfold, and story fragments are forming a cohesive whole.
Production work, as mentioned, is picking up speed! Miniatures are being molded. And we’ve narrowed down component counts and started to block out book layouts. And with that, we’ve made a key adjustment.
Some of the earlier oversized formats for storybooks looked great, but they ate up table space and broke the flow of play. That’s why we’ve made a change: Location books will remain large and square (in fact, they’ll grow slightly to improve readability and help exploration!), but the Mythos books and the Rulebook are shifting to the standard format — A4, like in Aeon Trespass: Odyssey and Kingdoms Forlorn. They’re easier to use and to flip through mid-session. All the content will remain the same, but it will be more practical to use.
To the delight of many of you, we’ve also decided to remove one component: the Tac Scanner.
Scanning cards had promise, and created tension early on… but that tension didn’t last. Across both extensive testing and your feedback, a clear pattern has emerged: inserting cards into the scanner quickly became repetitive, slowed down the game, and stole focus from the more exciting parts. The Tac Scanner just wasn’t living up to the rest of the game, so we’re letting it go and freeing up space for better components.
Like base rings!
We’re adding four base rings in different colors for Spacers, designed to make it easier to keep track of who’s who, especially during the early stages of the game, when everyone is wearing similar Standard EVA suits. It’s a small addition, but it makes a big difference! We’re also including five numbered base rings for Unique Intruders. This idea came directly from our QA team — being able to quickly distinguish between Intruders, especially of the same type, turned out to be crucial, especially during crowded and fast-paced excursions.
Each change we make is meant to remove noise from the signal. The result? A game that flows better, hits harder, and stays with you longer.
Gotta track ‘em all — Campaign Statistics
Some decisions leave immediate marks, others influence the game slowly, shifting the way the Shepherd perceives you and how the world starts to respond. Campaign statistics reflect that drift. With each session, each encounter, each mission, they begin to weigh in and define what your team is becoming.
Sometimes, changes in your stats will open paths forward. A paragraph you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. A boss that moves and acts differently. A mission that wasn’t available before, and may never be again if you miss your window. Each campaign emphasizes different forces: Dark Side of the Sun leans into Light and Zeal, Black Kompromat has Dark and Nihilism, while Three Laws of Heresy introduces Mechanical Alter and Organic Alter. None of them promise safety. Only consequences.
And it’s not just your team that changes. The Shepherd itself reacts. When Light floods the ship, shadows recede. Radiation becomes easier to endure. But with visibility comes exposure, and not everything that sees you will hesitate… When Dark spreads, silence grows. All movement becomes harder to track. Familiar rooms assume unfamiliar shapes. NPCs begin to shift with the environment, their tone changing, their loyalties flickering like failing lights.
Each Spacer also has two personal stats: Transcendence, which reflects how much of the deeper forces they’ve begun to grasp, and Inner Dark, which marks how much those same forces have begun to take notice. These aren’t just background flavor. These two statistics shape adventures, influence gear, and may determine whether a Spacer recovers… or disappears for good.
Once a stat crosses a specific threshold, something stirs. A unique event unfolds. A choice demands to be made. And if you survive that choice, the cap breaks, allowing you delve deeper into the system it governs. Some of the most powerful gear, strangest mechanics, and bizarre story branches are tied to those moments.
Sometimes, you’ll feel the pressure building long before the consequences arrive. At other times, it’ll hit you with no warning at all. But either way, the shift is already underway.
You didn’t just change the ship. The ship changed you.
Atomic Pilgrim - the Journeyman
There are things aboard the Shepherd that want you dead. They stalk, they devour, they corrupt. And then there’s the Journeyman.
His exact nature and his goals remain a mystery. He doesn’t seem fond of the Assimilation or the Grins. He’s something different altogether — an echo of a civilization so old its language became extinct. The Journeyman does not wage war.
But that doesn't mean peace.
He’s unlike any other boss you’ll face. Journeyman doesn’t charge at you. He doesn’t roar or flail. Instead, he slips between walls, warps through cover, teleports, and vanishes when cornered. He’s reactive, evasive, and very precise. And if he considers you a threat — he’ll unleash sudden, calculated violence. Not to destroy. Just to neutralize you.
In terms of mechanics, the Journeyman introduces a new layer of tension. He seeds Nuclear tokens into your Spacer Pool, then uses them to power up his attacks against you. He uses Orange dice, each marked with nuclear symbols that trigger volatile atomic effects when paired with Nuclear tokens. But the most dangerous element isn’t what he brings, it's what you have. Radiation. The more you build it up, the more he can hurt you with it. It doesn’t just hurt. It detonates, cracking your body open from within.
He’s especially powerful against teams whose Light statistic is high. That narrative connection matters. The story you build feeds into the way he behaves. If your team leans into Light, if you embrace that energy — the shrewd Journeyman will make use of it to power his nuclear attacks.
What makes him even more unpredictable is his restraint. The Journeyman doesn’t attack unless provoked. But the definition of "provoked" can change. Maybe you stepped too close. Maybe you cleared a corridor he planned to use somehow. Or maybe you just shone too brightly. When the Journeyman’s patience ends, he’ll bring the full weight of atomic manipulation down on your team.
Still, he’s not invincible. You can corner him and force him to fight. But if you do, you’ll begin an encounter that doesn’t play out like a boss fight, it plays out like a malfunctioning reactor…
And when it’s over, whether you win or lose, you’ll be left with questions. Why was he even here? What was he running from? And what did it cost him to be seen?
Tools of survival
Not all weapons work the same way. And not everything aboard the Shepherd can be killed the same way.
Every piece of gear belongs to one of four types, each defined by how it deals damage, how it interacts with enemy physiology, and how it reshapes the flow of battle. Choosing your loadout isn’t just about what hits hardest. It’s about what hits right.
Kinetic
Direct. Brutal. Reliable.
When all else fails — hit harder. Kinetic weapons are the most common tools of survival aboard the Shepherd. Blunt trauma, high-caliber rounds, rivet bursts. If you need solid damage, without fancy effects, kinetic weapons are your best bet. These don’t come with fancy tricks or elemental effects. What Kinetic weapons do have is raw stopping power. And when Intruders get close, that’s exactly what you want.
Thermal
Heat and cold - weaponized.
The temperature aboard the ship already swings from freezing void to engine-deck inferno. Thermal weapons turn that chaos into an advantage. They specialize in area effects — strike one target, but damage all enemies nearby too. With fire, plasma, or instant cryo, you can leave Intruders stunned, panicked, or simply burned out of existence. The range of these weapons tends to be shorter, but that just means you're close enough to feel the heat.
Energy
Powerful, volatile, and hard to control.
Energy weapons come in many shapes: arcing lightning, charged coils, even refined laser fire. What binds them together is instability. Energy weapons hit hard, sometimes absurdly hard, but they overheat, drain charges, or flicker under pressure. The upside? Nothing disables a cybernetic horror faster than a voltage spike through the core.
Chemical
Strange. Corrosive. Unpredictable.
Rare, and for good reason. Chemical weapons tend to be grotesque in both design and effect. Sludge. Toxins. Corrosive clouds. Some enemies are resistant. Others melt like butter. It’s worth knowing which is which.
We heard you like minis
Over the past few updates, we’ve shown you a lot: miniatures, renders, reworks, the strange and beautiful things taking shape in our workshops. And we’ve noticed something.
Many of you have upgraded from the Baseline Edition Pledge to the Exclusive Special Edition with miniatures instead of standees. That shift means a lot. It tells us our artistic work is resonating with you. That the designs we’re pouring so much into are landing exactly the way we hoped they would. Thank you.
And if you’re still on the fence about upgrading your pledge — if anything you’ve seen lately caught your eye, this might be a good time to take a closer look. Our Enormity miniatures have come a long way. They anchor the table, set the tone for every scene, and bring the world into focus. With every new sculpt and refinement, they’re becoming a more integral part of the experience: tactile and immersive. They’re built to last, and to be a joy to paint!
You’ll find the option to upgrade your version in Pledge Manager right HERE. (Just click and you’re aboard.)
Thank you again for the trust. We won’t waste it.
Kingdoms Forlorn Transmission Interruption
Before we wrap things up, a quick detour through the Kingdoms Forlorn. Tomorrow, a short update will go live on the Kingdoms Forlorn Kickstarter page. We’ll share two more Learn to Play videos to help new Knights step into their roles, as well as shipping news for those still awaiting their deliveries.
If you already have the game in your hands, we’d love it if you left us a rating or review on BoardGameGeek. Every rating and comment helps others discover the game. If your box is still on the way, we’re keeping our fingers crossed for the quickest possible arrival. And if you’re one of the brave few waiting for restock — yes, a very limited number of copies will become available after the fulfillment period ends!
If you’d like to be notified when the copies become available, send us an email at [email protected]. We’ll add you to our notification list and let you know right away.
Thanks, Knights. See you tomorrow.
That’s all for now, Spacers.
More systems are locking into place. More pieces are starting to move. And the ship? The ship is beginning to feel alive in all the right ways… and some of the wrong ones.
In the meantime, if you haven’t already, visit our Discord server to talk theory, share feedback, or just lurk in the reactor glow. And if you haven’t tried the Tabletop Simulator demo yet, now’s the perfect time. The first scenario of Black Kompromat is waiting for you. And so is the Learn to Play video — you’ll find it HERE.
We’ll see you on the Shepherd. Stay sharp. Stay strange.
